


Lover's Amnesia

by gyllene76



Category: Southern Vampire Mysteries - Charlaine Harris, True Blood
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-03-01
Updated: 2015-04-22
Packaged: 2018-01-14 05:12:14
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 79,167
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1254127
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gyllene76/pseuds/gyllene76
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sookie loses her memory after a car crash.  Can Eric make her fall in love with him again?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

All Over Again

 

I slowly opened up my eyes while stretching my body. My muscles feel so sore and stiff, almost as if I hadn’t moved in days. I turned over to my left side and screamed when I saw a man. But not just any man but a drop-dead gorgeous man, laying on his side facing me. He has blonde hair that was slightly disheveled and I couldn’t tell what color his eyes were since they were closed but he had long, thick, blonde eyelashes that trailed down to his cheekbones. His alabaster skin looked smooth and firm but I ignored my desire, no, my need to touch him. The beautiful sleeping stranger next to me. My eyes wander from his chiseled face down to his broad shoulders, and my inquisitive gaze trailed down to take in the rest of him. I noticed that he was wearing a black tank top. He looked tall, so tall that his feet ended at the edge of the bed.

 

How did I end up in bed with this man? I looked around and nothing seemed familiar. When I tried to think back to the last thing I remembered I came up blank. 

Nothing.

What happened to me? Why can’t I remember anything? Where am I? Who is this man sleeping next to me? Who am I? 

The more I tried to remember the more frustrated and frantic I became. Think, think, think! What’s the last thing I remember?! 

Nothing. Nothing came. 

Dammit!

I was close to hysterics when I heard a noise coming from the man beside me. I turned back to look at him only to find his eyes still closed and him mumbling something I couldn’t understand. It didn’t sound like anything I’d ever heard before but what would I know. All I know is I couldn’t understand him.

“Hello?” I called to him. When he didn’t respond I grabbed his hand but dropped it. It was cold. Too cold. Oh my god, what’s wrong with him? Is he dying? Is that why he’s in bed with me? Did something happen to the both of us?

I was close to crying when he spoke again.

“Sookie,” he said. It came out a little more than a whisper.

“Sookie? What’s Sookie?” I asked, leaning a little closer to him.

Blue-green eyes flashed open and startled me. His look was intense as he stared at my face. I felt a wave of sadness wash over me for a brief moment and then it was gone. It didn’t feel like it was coming from me though. I wasn’t sad. At least not yet. I was too busy freaking out about who I am, where I am, and who this man is.

“You’re Sookie,” he said as he lightly touched my cheek with his fingers.

I jerked away from his touch. Why was he so cold and why did I feel that sadness again?

“I’m Sookie?” I asked. I rolled the name off the tip of my tongue a few times, but it didn’t seem familiar. 

“Yes,” he mumbled while his eyes fluttered close.

“Hey!” I yelled at him. His eyes struggled to open again. Once they were open I said, “Are you okay? What’s wrong with you? You’re cold and you don’t seem like you can stay awake. Should I call a doctor or someone?”

His eyebrows furrowed while he continued to look at me, “I’m fine,” he closed his eyes again but continued to talk. “I’ll be awake in… three hours. I’m sorry, Sookie. I can’t stay awake any longer.”

Fine? He certainly didn’t seem fine. He can’t stay awake to answer my questions and I have so many questions. How does he know he’ll be awake in three hours? I cautiously pulled the blanket up to his chin hoping that it would help keep him warm. I don’t want to disturb him in case he really is sick.

Sookie.

Is Sookie my name? He certainly made it seem like it is. I wonder what his name is. I tried to remember but nothing came. Still a blank.

I laid back down and stared at the stranger in bed with me for what felt like hours. It wasn’t until my stomach started to growl that I realized that I was starving. When was the last time I ate?

Where was the kitchen? Where was I? 

I made my way out of bed looking around the room once again. There was hardly any furniture in the room. The bed was pretty much on the floor with a light surrounding it. I turned to look at the man laying in bed and his feet stretched out to the edge of the bed. Just how tall was he? 

There was a little stool looking table on each side of the bed, behind the bed was some wooden looking boxes with faucets and the ground was rocks. Underneath the windows were blue lights helping to light the room. It was hard to see what the rest of the room looked like with the only light coming from the bed and windows but I didn’t want to find a light right now and wake the man in bed.

I walked to my left and it looked to be a bathroom and a huge closet. Neither of which I needed right now so I walked back towards the windows. There looked to be some sort of artwork taking up a large portion of the wall but I couldn’t get a good look at it. Once by the windows I saw a door to my left. I did think it was strange that I knew what everything around me was but not who the man lying in bed is or who I am.

 

When I finally found the door and walked up to it, only to find a keypad that lit up once I arrived. Well, I certainly didn’t know the code. Now what am I going to do? After a few moments of standing there trying to figure out what I was going to do, I saw a note on the wall.

This is the code to get downstairs, please take it with you.  
Without it, you will not be able to come back into the bedroom.  
906

Why would I be staying at a place where I needed codes to get around? Was I in danger? Had something happened to me that was so bad that I now couldn’t remember anything?

Gathering my courage, I put in the code and the door made a hissing sound when it opened. I sure hope that’s normal and I didn’t do anything to break it. Once I stepped through the door, I entered what looked like an office. It didn’t seem normal that you’d leave a bedroom and end up in an office. 

I stepped out of the office onto a landing with stairs going down . It led me to a living room with a big, white sectional with an aquarium above the couch all in front of a huge TV built into a wall that looked like art with shelving and equipment down below.

 

The kitchen was spacious and modern just like the other rooms I’ve seen. Red bricks adorned the walls and smooth, white concrete counter tops wrapped around the room and the stainless steel appliances reflected the recessed lighting. It was all very clean with nothing out of place. There was a large, sturdy oak table with six chairs. With my stomach reminding me just how hungry I was, I opened the fridge to see what I could find to eat. I was pleasantly surprised to see it was was packed with food but did I even know how to cook? Surely, I know how to make myself something to eat but nothing was coming to me once again.

 

It would be horrible if I tried to cook myself something and burned down the house in the process. I decided I wouldn’t risk it at least not right now. I grabbed a banana out of the bowl on the counter and a bottle of water out of the fridge.

I walked around the house trying to get myself acquainted with it. I don’t know why but for some reason I trust the gorgeous man upstairs. It was obvious that he trusted me seeing that he let me sleep in bed with him while he’s obviously weak or vulnerable or whatever is wrong with him. Is that why I trusted him? No. It’s this feeling deep in my chest… I can trust him. Besides if he wanted to hurt me he already would have. If he was the one that made me like this, I don’t think he would have been sleeping in the same room with me.

I found three more bedrooms, dining room, laundry room, and a reading area with a bed on the ground. It looked very comfortable and inviting that I was almost tempted to pluck a book from one of shelves and lay down on the bed.. All of the doors that seemed to lead outside had a keypad by the door. I didn’t know if the code I had worked for those doors or not so, I didn’t try them. I didn’t want an alarm to go off or anything like that.

 

I did take a look outside, and saw that I was very high up. I couldn’t tell how high, but it looked like whatever floor we were on we were in one of the tallest buildings around. There was a deck with lounge chairs with white but comfortable looking cushions, and what looked to be a hot tub in the corner. The entire deck had a wall of glass around it.

 

As I walked around the house, I noticed there were a few pictures or paintings on the wall, but they were all covered with white fabric. Why were they covered? I thought about looking at what was underneath but thought better of it. I don’t even know where I am and it would be rude to invade someone’s privacy like that.

Eventually, I gave into the temptation of the reading room and grabbed The Count of Monte Cristo and sat down on the comfortable bed. I jumped up with a squeak when the man from upstairs startled me. I covered my mouth, embarrassed by the noise. How had I not heard him come into the room?

“You’re awake,” I finally said after staring at him for a few minutes. I craned my neck to look up at him. He was tall. Probably a foot taller than myself if I had to guess.

“I am,” he said as he walked closer to me. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I’m sorry.”

“No, I’m sorry. I didn’t hear you come into the room. Do you… do you know what happened to me?”

He nodded his head and then motioned with his arm for me to follow him. He led us into the living room and I sat down on the large white couch when he stopped in front of it. He stood staring at me for a minute before he sat down next to me. He shifted his body to face me then moved his hands towards me in what seemed like an attempt to hold my hand, but instead he placed his hands in his lap.

“You were in a car wreck. A very bad one. We’re lucky that you didn’t die,” he paused looking away with a pained look on his face. I almost died. I guess I should feel lucky that I’m alive even though I can’t remember anything.

I felt anger and sadness flash through me. I must have gasped because the man from upstairs quickly turned towards me fast. Almost too fast.

“Can I ask you a question?”

“Anything.”

I laughed, “You may regret saying that. I seem to have a lot of questions. I can’t seem to remember anything.”

He nodded his head, “You can ask me anything.”

“Thanks,” I said and he gave me a sad smile. “What’s your name? I’m sorry, but I don’t remember you. How do we know each other?”

“My name’s Eric. Eric Northman.” I held out my hand to shake his. He looked at it for a moment before shaking my hand. Again, his hand was cold.

“Why’s your hand so cold?” I blurted out before I could stop myself.

“I’m a vampire.” My eyes widened and my mouth dropped open but he continued. “Since we are dead, our body’s temperature is normally the temperature of the room.”

“A vampire. Are you serious? Vampire’s don’t exist. Do they?” Although I couldn’t remember anything, it didn’t seem like vampires would exist. He certainly didn’t seem like a monster.

“I am here to prove otherwise. We have been out of the coffin for two years.”

“Out of the coffin?” I asked with an incredulous stare.

“It’s the term we used when we revealed our existence to the human world,” he explained.

“Right...look, just because your body’s cold doesn’t make you a vampire. It could be your thyroid.” Again how I knew it could possibly be his thyroid I have no clue. This was getting frustrating.

“But it’s not. Don’t worry, I won’t hurt you,” he said giving me a stunning smile.

“I’m not worried. For some reason I trust you, but maybe I shouldn’t; you might be crazy.” It’s strange, but I do feel as if I can trust him. If what he’s said about the accident is true and he brought me to his home. This …. Eric must want to keep me safe and I must mean something to him.

He smiled and it was such a nice smile it made me smile back at him, but inside I wanted to melt. He had looked so serious since he came downstairs that it was nice to see him happy.

“Prove to me you’re a vampire,” I said. He arched an eyebrow and a small lazy grin played on his lips.

“You’re definitely taking this much better than I thought you would. Much better than most have.”

“Well, like I said for some reason I trust you,” I shrugged. “I don’t know why I just do which is a good thing since I can’t remember anyone. It would be bad if the only person I was around made me feel like I couldn’t trust them.”

“I’m happy you trust me,” he said with a stunning smile. “I’m going to do something to prove to you that I’m a vampire and I don’t want to scare you. Okay?”

I nodded my head. “Go for it,” I said. The only person I know is crazy. Great.

I heard a clicking sound and then fangs appeared in Eric’s mouth. Fangs. Is he really a vampire?

I reached out and touched one of them while tilting my head, as I got closer to try to get a better look at them. 

“Wow,” was all I could say. When I touched the other, I noticed that Eric closed his eyes. I jerked my hand back. How rude was it that I was touching him in that way?

“I’m so sorry, I can’t believe it just did that. Please forgive me.”

He smiled and I froze under the heat of his intense gaze. “I don’t mind. You’re curious.” I watched with fascination as his fangs slowly disappeared. My heart skipped a beat as he slowly started to lean closer to me.

“You can touch me whenever and wherever you like, Sookie,” he purred at me.

I gasped and stared at him in disbelief as the scorching heat of my blush stained my face and neck.

He chuckled and leaned back, never moving his eyes from mine.

“So h-how do vampires differ from humans?” I stuttered, trying to regain my composure.

“We are stronger, faster, have better eyesight, hearing, some of us have special gifts. We cannot be out in the sunlight. We are only awake while it is dark outside. There are not very many ways to kill us. We do not become sick or age. We can glamour humans into doing anything or forgetting certain things.”

“It all sounds great except for the sunlight and not being awake when it’s light outside. Is there anything else?”

He hesitated for a moment. “We only consume blood.”

“Blood?!”

“Yes. Blood.”

I scooted away from him in the hopes that he wouldn’t want my blood. “How do you get the blood you need?”

“Most of the time we drink it from humans,” I gasped and covered my mouth. Did he think he was going to drink from me? “Don’t worry. I won’t hurt you.”

“I would hope not,” I said, as I removed my hands from my mouth. “Can you get blood any other way?”

“Yes, although this way is least preferred by vampires. A couple of years ago a Japanese scientist came up with a synthetic blood. It wasn’t for vampires but when we learned of it, we decided it would be the perfect time to reveal ourselves. Technology was getting too advanced and it was getting harder and harder to hide our existence. We told the public that we could survive on this synthetic blood called True Blood.”

“Do you drink this True Blood?”

“I do sometimes, but I prefer not to.”

I hated to ask this since I was afraid of the answer, but I had to know. “Where do you normally get your blood from?”

He looked over at me. Maybe judging how I was taking the news of the existence of vampires, that they drink blood and that he was one. It didn’t really matter to me. I couldn’t remember anyone. He seemed nice to me, so far. 

“Normally I drink from you,” he said, but quickly added. “But if you do not want me to I can drink True Blood.”

“I don’t think I want you to,” I said as I wrapped my hands around my neck. “I’m sorry. It’s just that I don’t know you. You seem nice and all, but I’m a little afraid of getting bit.”

“I understand and I won’t pressure you, but I can promise you that you have nothing to be afraid of and I would never hurt you. I have taken blood from you many times before and you’ve always enjoyed it.”

“I’m sure you can find someone else who would be happy to give you their blood. You’re a good looking guy and all.” I blushed looking away. I can’t believe I just said that aloud.

He gave me a sad smile before looking away once again. Did I do something to hurt his feelings?

“I’m sorry. Did I say something wrong? Is that not how it works for a vampire to get blood?”

“It is and that’s how most vampires get the blood they need.”

“Is there a reason that you don’t or can’t?” I asked him. He was still looking away and it made me feel guilty that I’d said something to upset him.

“Hey,” I said as I moved closer to him and taking his large, cool hand in mine. He looked down at the hand I was holding so I tried to move it. Afraid that I’d overstepped my boundaries, but as I started to pull away, he grasped it in both of his hands and then looked at me.

“I can. I just won’t. I will drink True Blood,” he grimaced.

“What was that look for?” I asked.

“It’s unappealing, but it will provide what I need.”

“Can I ask you another question?”

“Of course. You can ask me whatever you’d like.”

“How do we know each other? Is it because I give you my blood?”

“No,” he shook his head. “We’re married. I’m your husband and we’ve been married for four years.”

“Married?” I choked out. 

Eric nodded his head and I glanced down at my bare hands. If we were married I’d have a wedding ring, right? Can vampires even get married? 

“Well,” I looked back up at Eric and lift my hand. “If we really are, where’s my wedding ring.”

“It was taken off you when you were at the hospital. I didn’t place it back on your finger when we got home hoping it would not confuse you when you woke up.”

Oh, I reached around him to pick up his left hand. On his ring finger sat a wedding ring. “Can I have my ring back?”

 

“Of course you can. Do you want it now?”

When I nodded my head, he left the room so quickly that I didn’t even see him. Was this because he’s a vampire or was there something else wrong with me?

He was back in a matter of moments and sat back down beside me. “Can I put them on you?” he asked.

I held out my hand to him and watched as he slipped a silver wedding ring with square diamonds all around it, on my finger first and then the engagement ring. It had a square diamond in the middle with two red stones on either side. It was beautiful and the way they sparkled in the light made it even more so.

 

“Do you approve?”

“Yes. It’s beautiful. Did I not approve before?”

“You did. I just wanted to see what you thought of them now.”

“Well, I don’t really have anything to compare them to, but I really think they're beautiful. I like the silver with the stones.”

“It’s not silver. It’s platinum, the two stones are rubies, and the middle is a diamond,” he said as he pointed to each one. “Vampires can’t touch silver, so silver wedding rings would be quite painful.”

“Silver hurts you?”

“Yes, it burns us and makes us weaker.”

“Then yes, silver wedding rings would be a bad idea. I really like the platinum, diamond, and rubies,” I said while admiring my rings.

“Good,” he said and then kissed my hand. He looked up at me and the surprised look on my face. “Forgive me if I was too forward.”

I just smiled at him. I didn’t know what to say or do. Here I was married to this gorgeous man and I couldn’t even remember him. I wondered what this was like for him, his wife having no clue who he is.

“So when I came home from the hospital you knew that I had lost my memory?”

“Yes, but I was hoping that after you woke up that you might remember.”

“Can you tell me more about what happened?”

“When I woke up for the night. At sunset,” I nodded. “You were not home and I couldn’t feel you or get an exact location of where you were at.”

“Feel me? Location?”

“I’m sorry I forget you don’t know any of this. Let me explain.” When I didn’t say anything and only stared back at him he continued. “When a vampire gives a human their blood, the vampire can then feel the emotions of the human and their location. Although the first time this happens, it is very weak. After the third exchange between human and vampire, it creates a blood bond and it’s permanent. After the third exchange, the human can also feel the vampire’s emotions and locate him or her. They can also send emotions to each other. For example, if you were scared I could send you strength, calm, and reassurance. If you are sad, I can send you love. Does that make sense to you?”

“I think so.”

“Good. So, when I woke up I couldn’t feel you since you were essentially in a coma. I could feel that you were alive and a hazy location. Luckily, before I started to search for you, I checked my phone to see if I had any messages from you. Normally, if your are not going to be home when I wake, you leave me a message if it’s unplanned. I had a phone call from the hospital letting me know you had been in a car accident earlier in the day. When I arrived, I was informed that you had sufficient brain trauma and that there was damage to your brain. Because of where the damage was done they believed that you would most probably suffer from memory loss.”

“But you said you hoped I would wake up with them.”

“Yes,” he said with a heartbreaking smile. “I was hoping. When I got to your room, I gave you my blood to heal you. I was hoping that it would also heal the area of your brain where your memories are stored.”

“Oh. Can vampire blood heal those sorts of things?”

“Perhaps, but I think since it had been so long since the accident it didn’t work. If I would have been there right away then it may have helped. All of your other injuries are healed and I could only give you so much of my blood. I believe that since there were so many other injuries and they were so severe, my blood healed those and not the damage to your brain.”

“If you give me more blood now will it help me get my memories back?”

“I’m afraid not. I cannot give you any more of my blood right now without turning you into a vampire and it still might not work. It wouldn’t be very good for you to be a newborn vampire and have no memories.”

I nodded my head and looked down at my fidgeting fingers in my lap as I tried to comprehend everything he’d said. He’s a vampire. I’m his wife with no recollection of anything beyond this night. I lifted my gaze to find Eric watching me and I couldn’t help but notice how… young he looked. 

“Can I ask how old you are?”

He chuckled at me, “I have been a vampire for over a thousand years.”

A thousand years. Wow. “You don’t look a thousand.”

“Vampires do not age.”

“Sorry. I forgot.”

“That’s alright,” he chuckled. “You’ve had a lot to take in, in a short amount of time.”

“How old were you when you were turned into a vampire?” I asked, extremely curious about this beautiful man or vampire that claims to be my husband.

“I believe I was somewhere around thirty winters old. We didn’t keep very good records back then, so it’s hard to really know.”

I sat there for a few minutes letting all the information I was just given run through my head. Trying to see if any of it felt familiar, but it didn’t and maybe it never would.

All of a sudden, my stomach let out an embarrassing growl. It was so loud that Eric looked at me shocked.

“Have you not eaten today?”

“Just a banana and water.” I confessed. “I didn’t know if I knew how to cook and was afraid, I might burn down this place. Plus, I haven’t been awake that long,” I said and shrugged.

“Let’s go into the kitchen and figure something out. Maybe we’ll have to get you some microwave meals until you learn how to cook again, you can eat out, or have meals made for you. Don’t worry we’ll figure this out together.”

Eric walked to the fridge and peered inside before grabbing ingredients and setting them down on the counter. 

“I’ll make you a sandwich. I’m sorry I’m not much of a cook since I haven’t eaten any human food in over a thousand years but I do know what your preference are when it comes to your sandwiches,” he said proudly. 

I stood and watched what he put on my sandwich so I would be able to make myself one tomorrow. After he was done making the sandwich he got me a bag of chips and a can of Coke out of the fridge. He also got himself a True Blood and placed it in the microwave to heat it.

We sat at the kitchen table both having our meals. If you want to call it that.

“You mentioned that a human could feel a vampire when they have a bond correct?”

“That’s true.”

“And we have this bond?” I inquired.

“Yes.”

“Then why can’t I feel you?”

“I’m blocking it from you. I thought it might be too much for you to handle right now. I don’t want to overwhelm you.”

“Thanks. I think it probably would overwhelm me right now. Can you feel what I’m feeling?”

“I can. I can choose to shut down the bond from either or both sides but I have never shut down the side where I can feel you.”

“This must be hard on you. Me not remembering you.” He nodded. “Were we in love?”

“Very in love,” he said with a beautiful smile. “ Before you I had never been in love.”

“How can that be?” I asked. “You’ve been alive for so long?” 

“It just is,” he said and shrugged his shoulders. “ Maybe it’s because I was waiting to meet my mate for life.”

“So what are we going to do now?” I asked as I looked over at him and saw raw determination in his eyes, Eric gave me a beautiful, seductive smile.

“I’m going to make you fall in love with me all over again.”


	2. It's Only Hair

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you Virala and Magsmacdonald for being my betas!
> 
> To view pictures for this story visit me at www.gyllene76.wordpress.com

“I’m going to make you fall in love with me all over again,” he said.

I looked away while my blush ran from my cheeks down to my toes or it certainly felt like it.

I decided to excuse myself to use the restroom and away from Eric for a few minutes.  I had a gorgeous man (vampire), who was my husband, said he loves me, and he was going to make me fall in love with him again.  How could I fall for him when I didn’t even know who I was?

“Excuse me.  I need to use the restroom,” I said as I stood up and took my plate to the sink.

“Do you know where it is?” he asked.

“I saw one earlier, I just haven’t needed to use one until now,” I said as I made my way out of the kitchen and down the hall to the bathroom I spotted earlier.

[ ](http://i0.wp.com/gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/03/ukrainian-apartment-26.jpg)

After I was done going to the bathroom, I stepped in front of the sink to wash my hands when I got my first look at myself.

My hands slowly made their way up to the left side of my head and I ran my fingers over the rough stubble that made up most of the left side of my scalp.

Tears started to stream down my face and I couldn’t hold back my sobs.  I closed my eyes to try and pull myself together.  I knew it was petty to cry about my hair, but I couldn’t help it.  On my right side and the back, I had long, blonde hair but on my left, I had no hair.

When I opened my eyes, Eric was standing behind me looking unsure about what to do. I guess a crying woman made him uncomfortable.  Our eyes met in the mirror and Eric placed his hands on my shoulders, but I quickly squirmed out from under his hands and left the bathroom.

“Sookie…,” he said and I quickly turned around toward Eric.

“Look at my hair,” I said pointing to the side of my head where my hair was missing.  “How can you look at me?”

“It’s only hair and you’re still beautiful to me.  I would rather you be here with your hair like that, than the other alternative.”

“I know it’s horrible for me to only be thinking about my hair but,” I shrugged my shoulders.  “I don’t remember anything else.  I only have the here and now.  How come I don’t have any cuts or bruises?”

“When I gave you my blood, it healed all of your cuts and bruises. Even the incision that was placed to reduce the swelling in your brain.”

Eric motioned for me to sit down on the couch with him.  I sat down to the left of him to wait since he seemed deep in thought.

“You have a friend that’s a witch who lives in New Orleans.  She might be able to come up with a spell or potion to make your hair grow.  Would this be acceptable?”

“Yes,” I nodded my head.  “I’m sorry.  I know I shouldn’t be worried about how I look.”

“You have nothing to worry about.  You’re handling everything quite well.  I can’t imagine what it must be like to be unable to remember everything.”  He stood and turned toward me, “I’m going to go into my office and call her.  Will you be alright while I’m gone?”

“I should be fine.  Thank you.” I sat there running my fingers over the stubble on my scalp until Eric came back.

“I talked to the witch and she said she’ll be able to help.  We’ll meet with her tomorrow night at first dark.” Eric told me as he slowly took my hand in his and gently rubbed his thumb against my knuckles. “Let’s go upstairs to our bedroom and pack our bags.  We’ll be gone for a couple of nights.”

Eric walked with me up to our bedroom and directed me to the closet.  It was packed with clothing for the both of us. I heard Eric chuckle and I looked over at him.

“My child, Pam, bought us all the clothes.  She lives to shop,” Eric said with a knowing grin.  “I can’t remember the last time I shopped for myself.  Pack a few things and we will leave soon. The drive will take about four hours.”

I looked around the closet for a few minutes before I noticed a small suitcase that Eric had set out for me to use.  I had no idea what to pack since I didn’t even know what time of year it was.

“Um… Eric?”

“Yes, Sookie,” he responded back to me as he came back into the closet.

“I don’t know what to pack,” I furrowed my eyebrows.  I was getting frustrated with everything being so unknown to me.  “Can you help me?  I don’t even know what time of year it is.”

“Of course, I’ll help you.” Eric started pulling a couple of jeans, sweaters, and boots and placed them in the suitcase. He handed me another pair of jeans and a long sleeve shirt.  “By the way, it’s January so it’s a little cold outside especially at night. Do you want me to also pack your intimates?” Eric asked with a raised eyebrow and a suggestive smile.

My heart fluttered and I could feel the blush on my face. “N-no, but thank you,” I stuttered then turned toward the bathroom. “Do we have time for me to take a shower?”

Eric took a few steps closer to me and lifted my chin to face him, with a soft smile on his face he said, “We have time,” he let go of my chin and started walking out of the closet.  “I’ll put our suitcases in the car and pack you a snack in case you get hungry before we have a chance to get you something else to eat.”

[ ](http://i0.wp.com/gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/03/shower.jpg)

OoOoO

I walked out of the bathroom after enjoying my shower with its four different shower heads coming out of the walls and water falling from the ceiling, to find Eric sitting on the bed with his elbows on his knees and his face in his hands.

I moved slowly over toward him since he hadn’t moved since I came into the room.

“Are you alright?” I asked as I placed a shaky hand on his shoulder.  Eric’s head whipped up and he quickly stood.

“I’m fine.  I was just deep in thought and didn’t hear you.  Come. We really should get on the road.”

[ ](http://i0.wp.com/gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/03/erics-car.jpg)

We were in Eric’s car, which was a flashy, red sports car of some sort.  He informed me when I was ready we could go shopping to get me a new car since my previous one was totaled in the accident.  I watched out the window as we left our building and out onto the street.  I couldn’t see much since it was dark except we had come out of the tallest building around.

I was trying to take in my environment when I heard Eric chuckle. I faced him with a smile on my face.  “What are you laughing at?”  I asked.

“This whole night,” he said and I scrunched my face up.  Nothing about tonight had been funny.

“What do you mean?  I’ve found nothing funny.”

“I was thinking about you sneaking up on me when you came out of the shower,” he said with a shrug.  “I was so lost in my thoughts… it’s dangerous for me to let my guard down.”

“Why?  I’m not dangerous to you.  I’m pretty sure you’re much stronger than I am.”

He chuckled again, “I am, but I don’t need my guard up with you.  I can relax and be myself when I’m around you.”

“So… you’re different when you’re around other people?”

“Yes,” he said and then ran his hand through his hair.  “I’m in a position of power within the vampire world.  I’m the Sheriff of Area Five and with that title, I make sure all the vampires in my area follow the laws we have in place and they come to me to settle disputes, among other things.  A vampire should never let their guard down or they will more than likely meet their true death.  Vampires are ruthless killers that is our nature.  Most vampires think of humans to be used for food and sexual release. Nothing more.  When I’m around other supernatural creatures, I will have to act differently.  I will not treat you with disrespect, but I will probably seem as if I’m acting cold toward you. You will also have to act a certain way, but we have time before you’ll be around other vampires.”

My body stiffened as I heard this.  I didn’t like the idea for either one of us having to put on an act.

“Neither of us like it, but that is the way it has to be.  I cannot be seen as weak, but it’s not as bad you may be thinking.  You are known as my wife and because you are my wife you are treated with more respect than other humans.”

“Why did you marry me if vampires would think you’re weak for doing so? Do you feel that way about humans?”

“I married you because I love you and want to spend the rest of my existence with you.  I don’t particularly care for most humans, but I’ve never been a very social vampire.  I enjoy being around very few and at the bar we own, the human clientele are only there to see, fuck, or get bitten by a vampire.  After humans knew of our existence, our way of life changed.  We no longer have to hide who we are, our meals come willingly to us and throw themselves at us.”

“And you don’t like that?” I asked skeptically.

“It’s easier now that we don’t have to hide our existence, but I don’t need or want them like most vampires do,” he said, but looked over at me still feeling my cynicism. “Sookie,” he said with a sigh.  “We have been married for four years and together for more than five.  We were together before the reveal happened. I have been alive for a very long time and had my share in fucking many, but it was a very lonely existence until you came into my life. Although many think all vampires do is feed and fuck and cannot be monogamous that has not been the case for me  _ever_  since you walked into my life.”

“Is it legal for a human and vampire to marry?”

“No, it is not,” he said.

“Then how are we married?”

“We married before the reveal.  The government believed I was human so it was legal.  All marriages before the reveal are acknowledged but it’s not legal to marry now.” He reached over and touched my left arm.  “You have a scar here,” he said as he rubbed his thumb over my wrist.  “Vampires also have a marriage ceremony.  This scar is from when we pledged ourselves to each other.”

“Will you tell me about the ceremony sometime?”

“I will tell you about anything you want to know,” he said with such sincerity that I knew he was telling me the truth.

“Are you considered weak because you’re married to me?”

“There may be some who think I am weak because of the way vampires view humans, however I am anything but weak.  I’m one of the oldest vampires here in the new world and have quite a reputation.  If they’re smart, they won’t mess with me or mine.”

“What does your age have to do with anything?”  I asked.

“The older the vampire, the stronger the vampire,” he explained.  “You don’t have to worry, all the vampires in my area know who you are, and most like you.”

“Why do they like me if vampires don’t think fondly of humans?”

“You’re different from most humans.  You hold no prejudice for any supernatural creature,” he said with a shake of his head.  “You, Sookie,  treat each one you meet based on who they are, not what they are.  Most humans only know that vampires exist and we are treated one of two ways.  We are either monsters or they want to be bitten or fucked by us.”

“I think everyone should treat you by who you are and not what you are, but I’m happy that I treat you that way,” I said with a genuine smile.

“There’s something else I need to tell you and I think it’s the reason you treat everyone the way you do.”

“Okay… What is it?” I asked.

“You’re a telepath. You can read the minds of humans, Weres, and witches, but you can’t read vampire minds.  There are also other supernatural creatures that you have not met that you may be able to read.”

“What’s a Were?”

“A Were is a werewolf although there are others who transform into other animals such as were-panthers and were-tigers, but only werewolves call themselves Weres. You can read all of them, just not as easily as you can humans.”

I sat there, staring at the vampire beside me.  My vampire husband.  Who just explained that I can read people’s minds. Werewolves too.  Right.  Nothing crazy about this whole situation.

“Why do you think this is the reason I treat people the way I do?”

“You had a rough childhood growing up hearing all the thoughts around you until you built up your shields.  The town you grew up in, which is about forty miles away from Shreveport.  That’s where we live,” he said and looked over at me.  I nodded my head showing that I was following along.  “The people in your town treated you unkindly and made you feel like an oddity.  I think since you were treated differently, it’s easier for you to accept others who are different.”

“Do I go and visit anyone from my hometown?  What’s it called?”

“Bon Temps, and you don’t visit very often.  It’s a very small town and a lot of times when you meet your friends from there, they come to either Shreveport or you go to a couple of different towns around Bon Temps and Shreveport.”

“Do I have any family?” I asked.  You would think they would want to visit me after I had gotten into such a terrible car accident but Eric hadn’t mentioned anyone.  Maybe they didn’t approve of me being married to a vampire.

Eric looked over at me with a somber smile.  “No, I’m sorry you don’t.  Your Gran, Adele, died three years ago of a heart attack after your brother died in a car accident. His name was Jason.”

“What about my parents?”

“Your parents died when you were seven.  I never met them, but you were very close to your Gran and your brother.  You both went to live with her after your parents died and she raised you both.”

“Oh,” was all I could say.  All of my family was gone.  Not that I could remember any of them but it was still sad.  I guess it was better that I didn’t remember them.  It would be worse if I still thought they were alive and found out they’re dead.

“Are there very many people like me?  Telepaths?”

“You are the only telepath I’ve ever encountered.  I also want to warn you that the witch we are going to visit; according to you is a very loud broadcaster.”

“What’s that mean?”

“You can read her thoughts very clearly and they come in loudly, but you’ve always said that she says what she thinks.  She’s very trustworthy. I want you to be prepared when you meet her again. It may be overwhelming for you, but if it gets to be too much and you want me to, I can try to help you through the bond.”

“Do you know how these shields work?  How I use them?”

“I know a little. Only what you’ve told me. Ever since you’ve started drinking my blood…,” he was saying until I screeched.

“Blood!?  I drink your blood?”  My whole body tensed and the only thing holding me in the car’s leather seat was the seat belt strapping me in.

“Yes,” he sighed taking a deep breath.  I just noticed that was the first time I’ve seen him breathe.  “Do you remember when I told you about our blood bond?” he asked and I nodded my head.  “We exchanged blood those times and we exchange regularly.”

“Why do we exchange regularly?”

“Because we both enjoy it.  You didn’t mind taking my blood,” he said with a somber smile.   He looked over at me with a sad look upon his handsome face before he ran his hand through his hair.

I may not remember anything about myself or anyone else, but Eric remembered everything and I was questioning it all.  This must have been hard on him as well.  I felt bad that I was questioning everything between us and it was making him sad.  I wanted to do something to make him feel better.  I started to reach my hand out to touch his hand that was on the gear shift, but before I placed my hand on his, I changed my mind and put both my hands back into my lap.

Eric grabbed my hand and placed it with his on the gear shift.

“Never worry about touch me, Sookie.  I always welcome your touch,” he said as he squeezed my hand.

“I’m sorry this must be difficult for you,” I said and looked over at Eric to see him nod his head.  “We both don’t know how to act around each other.  I’m sure you want to act like you did before the accident and I don’t remember you or anyone, but I do feel something for you.  It’s telling me that I can trust you,” he smiled at that and I continued.  “I’m interested to see what I will feel toward the witch we’re going to visit.  What’s her name again?”

“Amelia and yes I do want to treat and act like I would normally with you,” he said and then glanced over at me, “but I don’t want to scare you away.”

“How would you normally act around me or treat me other than you are now?”

“I don’t think you want to know.  I understand that you don’t know me right now.  It’s fine.  I’ll be fine so you don’t need to worry about me.” I decided I wouldn’t push him if he didn’t want to tell me.

“You’re taking this whole situation quite well.  In fact, I think you’re more accepting now than the first time you found out.  No one knew of vampires back then.  You were shocked that you couldn’t hear my thoughts and I found out I couldn’t glamour you. Normally, I would have just killed you since I couldn’t glamour you, but there was something about you from the moment we met,” he said with a wistful smile.

“How did we meet?”  I asked him.  I was eager to find out how I became involved with this gorgeous man.

“You applied to be my personal assistant and since vampires cannot be out during the day and there are things that can only be done during the day, especially before the reveal occurred.”

“What did I do for you or do I still do it?”

“You would take items to the post office, take and pick up my dry cleaning. Go to the bank and pick up supplies for our other businesses and no, you don’t do it anymore.  When we got engaged, you stopped working as my personal assistant because you were too busy planning our wedding plus you were getting to the point where you were not up much during the day, so we hired someone new.  Now we have Alcide who’s our day man and he’s a Were.”

“Do I work now?”

“You work at our bar and you help me out with some of the office and my sheriff’s paperwork.  Other times you sit out in the bar using your telepathy to look for underage patrons, drainers or anyone looking to cause trouble.”

“What’s a drainer?”  I asked him and saw that he gripped the steering wheel a little tighter.  “I’m sorry.  Am I asking too many questions?”

“No, you’re fine.  I told you, you could ask anything you want.  A drainer is someone who steals blood from an unwilling vampire and either uses it for recreational purposes or sells it.  Either way, in most cases the vampire either dies of blood loss or the drainer stakes them for their own protection.”

“Why would they do that?”

“When they take our blood like that they call it ‘V’ it’s drained from a vampire then put into a vial for a buyer to drink.  It will heighten their senses, increase strength, make for an intense sexual experience, cause hallucinations for a short period of time, and it may cause them to believe they can do things they cannot do like fly or jump off a building without getting hurt.”

We were quiet for a while, while I tried to digest all the information that I learned since we had gotten in the car.

“Can you tell me how my shields work?”

“You’ve said it’s like building a wall around your mind.  Once you figure it out it shouldn’t be too hard for you to use them since you’ve had my blood recently.”

“Do you know why I can’t read vampires?”

“You think it’s because we have no brain waves because we are dead.”

“You know, you don’t seem dead.  You’re sitting right here talking to me and you have feelings.”

“Vampires die for the day.”

“You woke up today and talked to me.  You moved,” I argued with him.

“I woke up when I felt your distress in our bond, but under most circumstances I wouldn’t wake up.  When a vampire is in their daytime rest, we are at our most vulnerable.  That is why when you left our bedroom you had to put in a code.  When we get back, I’ll go over the whole security system so you can go outside or if you need to engage the light tight shutters for extra protection.”

“What do they do?”

“The light tight shutters are a thick metal and they come down over the windows or doors.  You can choose where you want to have them come down or the whole house and doors.  If you felt in danger in any way, I would want you to seal the whole house.”

“You said that you can’t be out in the sunlight, right?”

“Correct.  I would burn.”

“Then how come you have windows in your bedroom?  Why didn’t you burn?”

Eric smiled over at me, “It’s our bedroom and we had special UV windows installed.  The light can still come in, but it cannot harm me.”

“That’s cool!” I exclaimed and Eric chuckled at me.

“It is,” he said.  “Our loft was your anniversary gift to me, to us and you had the UV windows installed.”

“If the windows can block out the sun so it isn’t harmful to you then have you seen the sun?”

“I have.  It had been more than a thousand years since I had last seen it.”

“Did you miss it?”

“I didn’t. It was something that I accepted early on when I became a vampire.  The same with eating food, but I was unprepared for how beautiful you are in the sunlight,” he said with a soft smile. “I had forgotten all the colors in the sky when the sun rises and sets. I would miss it now, I never knew true, ethereal beauty until I saw the sun kiss your skin.  What I would give to watch the first and last rays of sunlight shine on you for all of eternity.”

I blushed at the compliment, unsure of what to do or say.  “Maybe when we get back, we can enjoy the sunset together.”

“I would like that,” he said while lightly squeezing my hand.

I was thinking about how Eric had seemed to be asleep today until it was dark, so I didn’t understand how he could be awake while it was light outside.

“What has you so confused over there?” he asked.

“How can you be awake during the day?  You didn’t wake up tonight until it was dark or I didn’t see you until after dark.

“You have always been so smart, my Sookie.  Normally, I wake up about an hour before the sunsets and I can force myself to stay awake in the morning because of my age.  A young vampire cannot fight the dawn or wake up until the sun sets.  After we got home from the hospital, I stayed up long past dawn to see if you would wake up.  I was hoping that you would wake up before I died for the day but you didn’t. Since I forced myself to stay awake for so long after dawn, I didn’t wake until the sun had set.”

“If you are forcing yourself does it harm you in any way?”

“If I stay up too long past dawn than I’ll bleed from my nose and ears.  It’s called the ‘bleeds’,” he explained. I scrunched up my nose at hearing this and Eric chuckled.  “You’ve always hated it when I would stay up. As much as you enjoyed my company, you hated to see me with the bleeds.”

“I definitely don’t like the sound of it.  Please don’t do it unless you have to.  Okay?”

“I will try.  I felt the need this morning.  I wanted to be there for you when you woke up.”

“Thank you, I appreciate it.  It might have been better that you were asleep at first.  If you were awake and talking to me, I might have freaked out even more.  I had plenty of time to think on my own and you did wake up a little,” I said and patted his hand.

Eric chucked and shook his head, “You shouldn’t have to try and make me feel better.  That is my job.”

I turned my gaze toward him, “I think it’s both our jobs since we are married, is it not?”

“I believe it is, but you’re the one without your memory and everything is unfamiliar to you.  You shouldn’t have to reassure me during this time.”

I smiled over at him.  “I understand and it’s sweet that you wanted to be there for me.  How much longer until we get to where we are going?  I’m getting a little hungry.”

“It will be about another hour.  If you want, we can look for something when we come to the next town or you can eat what I packed for you.”

“I’ll just eat what you packed for me.  I’m happy that you know how I like my sandwiches and I didn’t have to figure it out on my own.  Do you know other foods that I like?”

“Of course, I do,” he said and looked over at me.  “It may have been a thousand years since I last ate food, but we normally at least share one meal a day together.”

After I got my sandwich, apple and water out of the little cooler that Eric had packed for me, we were quiet as I ate. We were probably only about ten to twenty minutes away from New Orleans when I broke the silence to start asking questions again.

“Did you want to become a vampire when you were turned?”  I asked.  I had learned all kinds of things about vampires and it made me wonder if it was something, he had chosen.

“Most vampires before the reveal did not get a choice in whether or not they became a vampire or not.  I was dying on my funeral pyre when my maker, that’s what you call the vampire that makes you, came upon me.   Weak from too much blood lose, I could not fight him off. He had already killed the men that had remained with me until I was taken to Valhalla.”

“What happened?  Why were you dying?”  I asked.  Horrified at the thought that he was dying all those years ago and if had not been for his maker, he would not be here now with me.

“I was wounded in battle but my maker, had seen me fighting out on the battlefield.  He thought I would make a good vampire.  I was an excellent warrior when I was human and have become even more so in all my years as a vampire,” he said with a big smile as he pulled onto the off ramp and then navigated through the streets until we came upon the hotel we were staying at.  The Saint Hotel.

[ ](http://i1.wp.com/gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/03/saint-autograph-collectionx-large.jpg)

Eric parked in front of the building and handed the keys to a man standing outside on the sidewalk after getting our suitcases out of the trunk.

“The valet,” he said as he pointed to the man who had just gotten into the car and driven away.  “He’s parking the car where all the guests’ cars are parked.”

“How did you know I didn’t know what he was doing?”

“I felt your curiosity.  Come let’s get checked in.  You are tired and should rest,” he said and held his hand out to me.  I took his hand as we walked inside.

As Eric checked us in, I looked around at our surroundings.  It was very quiet and there was no one in sight except for the man behind the desk.  There were huge pictures along the wall the desk was on and to the left of the room was a sitting area with a purple wall of fabric with a few green pillows.

[](http://i0.wp.com/gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/03/lobby.jpg) [](http://i1.wp.com/gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/03/lounge.jpg)

“Sookie,” Eric said.  “Are you ready to go to our room?”  I nodded, as we were led to the elevators by a man carrying our suitcases.

When the elevator doors opened to our floor, I was shocked that the hallway was so dark and lit by purple lights with artwork along the hallway.

[ ](http://i1.wp.com/gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/03/hallway.jpg)

After the man opened the door to our room, set our bags in the bedroom, and Eric gave him some money, he left.

I walked around the rooms taking it all in as Eric followed behind me.

[ ](http://i0.wp.com/gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/03/guestroom4.jpg)

There was more artwork on the brick walls and the carpet and curtains were all red with two black leather couches that looked like chairs with a large TV up on a wall.  I made my way to the bedroom to find more red carpet, even the walls were red.  A large bed sat against one wall with white bedding and a black throw at the bottom.

[ ](http://i1.wp.com/gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/03/guestroom1.jpg)

The bathroom and bedroom were separated by a glass wall.  A white curtain was on either end that you could close for privacy. It was a little like our house since there wasn’t much separating the two rooms.  The bathroom had black and white marble floor and walls.

  


 

 

“Do you like it?” Eric asked from behind me.

“Yeah, I was just thinking that this room and our bedroom are kind of alike,” Eric nodded his head.  “The bedroom and bathrooms are not really separate.”

“It does.  They’re both modern. Although, our house in Shreveport is more industrial.  Do you like this style?”

I shrugged my shoulders, “I like it, but I don’t really have any reference to know the difference.”

“Why don’t you get ready for bed?  I will wait for you out here,” he said and motioned toward the bedroom.

After going to the bathroom, brushing my teeth, washing my face, and changing into the pajamas that Eric brought in for me, after I asked him what I normally did to get ready for bed, I was finally ready but nervous.  I didn’t know what to expect.  What kind of hotel was this?  Was it for vampires?

I walked into the bedroom to find Eric standing with his back to me with only a pair of black silk sleep pants on.  He turned around once I walked in and I think my mouth hit the ground at the sight before me.

[ ](http://i2.wp.com/gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/03/shirtless1.jpg)

Before me stood the most beautiful man, I had ever seen.  True, I couldn’t remember anyone else except the men I’d seen at the hotel, but I had a feeling that no other man could compare to Eric. He smiled at me as he walked to the bed and sat down on the opposite side of me.

I continued to stand there looking at him while he made himself comfortable on the bed by laying down and crossing his legs at the ankles.  He looked over at me, patted the bed, and then pulled back the covers on my side.

I slowly walked over to my side of the bed and got in. I laid on my back, staring at the ceiling, too afraid to look at the half naked gorgeous vampire… my husband, next to me.  My heart was racing and there was an unfamiliar ache in my belly.  After a few moments of silence Eric finally spoke.

“If you’re that uncomfortable with being in bed with me, I can sleep on the floor.  I’m sorry I didn’t think of this before.  I should have asked you and we could have gotten you, your own room,” he said in a dejected tone.

I turned on my side to look at him and what I saw broke my heart. Eric was on his side, facing me with sad eyes filled with longing. I quickly moved closer to him and cupped my hand to his cheek before I knew what I was doing.

When I went to remove my hand, he placed his on top of mine. “Leave it,” he said before he removed his hand from mine.  I nodded my head and rubbed my thumb across his cheekbone. Eric closed his eyes, looking content with my touch.

“I was nervous because I didn’t know what to expect.  I didn’t know where you were going to sleep.  Is this a vampire hotel? What about the windows?”

“You are worried about me?” he said with a smile and I nodded at him.  “This is a vampire friendly hotel.”  He turned onto his back and pointed to a button on the wall beside the bed.  “This button brings down the light tight shutters,” he said and then pushed the button.  I laid there watching the shutters came down and made a clicking noise.  Eric got out of bed, walked over to each window, and inspected them.  I tried not stare, but I almost couldn’t help it. He was gorgeous and absolutely breathtaking without a shirt.  I watched as he then moved on to the door and locked it as well. The instant he turned around I averted my gaze to one of the shutters and hoped that my cheeks weren’t as red as they felt.  If they were, Eric didn’t say anything, instead he came and got back into bed, but this time under the blankets.

“I will leave a light on so that you’ll be able to see if you get up before me tomorrow.  There’s a phone in the other room and a menu by it.  Call room service and order yourself some food when you get hungry.  I’ve already looked over the menu and wrote down what you like on a notepad that I placed next to the phone.”

“Thank you for taking such good care of me.  I didn’t even think about what I’d do for food tomorrow.”

“No need to thank me.  I only ask that you don’t leave our hotel room tomorrow until I get up.  I would hate for anything to happen to you or for you to get lost during the day when I cannot help you.”

“That shouldn’t be a problem. I don’t have any idea of where I would want to go.”  We were quiet for a minute just looking at each other when I had a thought.  “Hey, Eric?”

“Yes, Sookie,” he said with a smile.

“You said this is a vampire friendly hotel right?”  He nodded his head. “Do vampires work here?  Was that man who brought up our suitcases a vampire?”

“No, why do you ask?”

“You said that I can’t read vampire minds.  Right?”

“Correct,” he answered.

I shrugged my shoulders as best as I could, “I haven’t heard anyone’s thoughts since we arrived here.  I thought it was because they were all vampires.  Maybe I don’t have to worry about my shields.  Maybe they’re already up.”

“Hmm,” Eric said.  “You cannot read vampires, but you’ve always said that you can tell when one’s around because you can sense a void where their thoughts should be.  How many are here in the hotel?”

I laid there and concentrated as hard as I could for at least five minutes as I tried to find a void.  Any void but I couldn’t find one.  I couldn’t even find Eric’s.

“None,” I said.  I couldn’t understand why I didn’t find any of these voids.

“What about mine?  Can you find my void?”

“No,” I said barely above a whisper.  “What does that mean?”

“It either means that your shields are strong.  Stronger than they’ve ever been or it could mean that you no longer have your telepathy.”

“Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”

Eric furrowed his eyebrows as he laid next to me studying my face for a long moment.  “When you were growing up you always wanted to be like everyone else and to not be able to read minds, but once you met me and started using your telepathy you accepted it.  My only worry is that you are or were not able to be glamoured because of your telepathy.  I would never use it on you, but if you’re able to be glamoured than any vampire if they got you alone could make you do anything.”

“Eric…” I said as tears welled in my eyes.  “What are we going to do?  I don’t want anyone to be able to control me.”

Eric smiled at me until one of my tears escaped my eye and trailed down the side of my face.  “That’s my Sookie, never wanting anyone to control you.  Don’t cry,” he said as he wiped away my tear with the pad of his thumb. “Please, don’t cry. There’s no need to get upset or worry until we know for sure if you can be glamoured or not.  Will you let me try and glamour you so we can find out if it’s even possible?”

“Yes, will I be able to feel anything?  Will I know it’s happening?”

“You’ve always been able to feel if a vampire is trying to glamour you, but most humans cannot. That’s why vampires use it. Whoever they are trying to glamour never knows that they’ve been glamoured.  Are you ready?”

“Ready,” I said.  I knew Eric wouldn’t do anything to hurt me, so I was determined to relax and let him try.

“Kiss me, min älskare,” Eric said with a smirk on his face.

I nearly gasped when I heard him.  He wanted to kiss me?  I couldn’t help, but look at his dark pink lips before looking back into his eyes.  “Am I supposed to do as you said?”

“Yes, I’ll try harder now, use more of my influence,” he said and looked into my eyes with such determination that I was afraid I’d do whatever he said no matter if I was glamoured or not.  “Kiss me, min älskare.”

“Nothing, I don’t feel the need or whatever to kiss you.  What does min älskare mean?”  I asked instead of kissing him. As tempted as I was, I didn’t feel compelled to kiss him because he ‘glamoured’ me to do so.  But that didn’t mean I wasn’t curious.

Eric looked at me with sadness in his eyes once again before he spoke.  “It means my lover.”

“Lover?” I sputtered out.

“Yes, Sookie, you are my lover or you were.  You’re many things to me and lover is one of them.  I’ve been calling you my lover for many years.”

“Do you call me your lover in front of others?”

“Yes, sometimes in English but mostly in Swedish. You’ve always liked it when I say it in Swedish.  You like it when I talk to you in Swedish or you did.”

I leaned over and gave Eric a quick, chaste kiss on the lips before I laid myself back down on my side of the bed.  I giggled at the look of surprise on Eric’s face, before I snuggled into the blankets making myself comfy.

“Good night, Sookie, min älskare.”

I giggled again before responding back, “Goodnight, Eric.”

“Do you know how much longer it is until the sunrises?”   I asked after we had been quiet for a long time.  I wasn’t sure if Eric was still awake or not.

“Dawn is thirty minutes away.  Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.  Just a lot of things to think about.  I didn’t know if you were awake or not.”

“I cannot die for the day or as you like to call it rest for the day until the sun is coming up.  I can go into downtime but any movement or sound you make will bring me out of it.  I won’t wake up tomorrow unless you are distressed.”

“I don’t like you calling it dying for the day.”

“You never have, but I want you to know the term in case you hear someone else mention it, you will know what they are talking about.”

“Thank you.”

“It’s no problem, Sookie.”

“Not just for that but for everything. For not giving up on me and not be frustrated at the situation or me.  I know it must be trying.”

“I’ll never give up on you.  Never worry about that and I know there’s nothing you can do about the situation.  Neither of us can, so we will just make the best out of it.  I only hope you don’t give up on me.”

“I won’t,” I said with a big yawn.

“Jag älskar dig, min älskare. Godnatt. Vi ses när jag stiga.” (I love you, my lover. Goodnight. I’ll see you when I rise.)

“You’re right.  I do like it when you speak Swedish.”

I was about to fall asleep, but something seemed to be keeping me from falling over the edge.  Almost like something was missing.

“Eric?”

“Sookie.”

“This may sound strange, but can I hold your hand?”  It couldn’t have been more than a second before I felt Eric’s hand wrap around mine and I fell asleep.


	3. Do Over

I woke up to a tickling sensation running up and down my arm. When I opened my eyes, I was shocked to see it was Eric’s nose that was the culprit in tickling me.

“What are you doing?” I said sleepily.  Had I only been asleep for a few minutes?  The last thing I remembered was asking Eric how long it was until dawn.

“Smelling you, trying to wake you up.  You need to get up and take a shower.  We are meeting the witch once the sun’s down. While you’re in the shower, I’ll order you some food.  How does that sound?”

“That sounds fine.  Can I lay here for a couple of minutes first and wake up?”

“Anything you want,” he said.

I yawned and stretched my body trying to wake up before settling down on my side once again to look at Eric.  “Why were you smelling me?  Do I smell so bad that I need a shower?”

Eric chuckled at me and flopped onto his back.  “Far from it.  I love the way you smell, but I was smelling you for a simple reason.  It relaxes and calms me,” he said with a shrug.

“Are all vampires like you?”

“In what way?  Smelling humans?” he asked with a smirk on his face.

“Well, that and nice, sweet, and caring?”

“No to all of the above.  Vampires rarely smell humans because most humans smell foul and most vampires you encounter will treat you with more respect than they do other humans, but they will not be nice, sweet, or caring.  It’s not really the vampire way. Also, if a vampire acted that way, it would be disrespectful toward me.  As my wife I’m sure you wouldn’t like it if I treated other woman like I do you.”

“No, I probably wouldn’t,” I said after I thought about it for a moment.

“Then why do you act the way you do?”

Eric smiled at me before answering, “You need to get into the shower and get ready.  I will answer your question while you’re eating.”  He quickly got off the bed and I heard the water to the shower turn on before I even had a chance to get off the bed. That was going to take some getting used to.

OoOoO

I came out of the bathroom ready to meet Amelia and to see if she could fix my hair.  Maybe I’d find out a little more about vampires from her and see what she thought of Eric.  I was a little worried about if I still had my telepathy or not.  So far, I hadn’t heard anyone, but Eric did warn me that Amelia was a ‘loud broadcaster’.

[ ](http://i0.wp.com/gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/03/guestroom4.jpg)

I walked out in the living room area of our hotel room to find Eric wheeling in a cart of food that smelled delicious.  Once my nose got a good whiff of the food my stomach decided to agree by growling loudly.

When I lifted up the lid to the dish it smelled even better, if that was possible.  Eric quickly took the lid from me and sat it down on the cart.

“I ordered you steak, mashed potatoes and gravy, and green beans.  There’s also bread and butter for you.”

“Thank you, it smells delicious.”

We sat and ate in silence for a few minutes.  I was too busy stuffing my mouth to even talk.  I noticed the bottle Eric was pouring his blood out of was different from what he had last night. It was a dark red color and had a fancy label on it.  I pointed at the bottle sitting on the cart.

“Is that different than what you were drinking last night?”

“It is.  This is Royalty Blended.  It has royal blood in it with a very small amount of synthetic blood.  It tastes much better thanTrue Blood,” he said with a sigh.  “I may start buying it for at home as well.”

“If it tastes better than why don’t you drink it at home?”  I asked him.  It made sense to me to drink what tasted better.

“It’s a lot more expensive and has a shorter shelf life than True Blood.  Before I only drank a True Blood while you were eating meals that we shared or occasionally at our bar, Fangtasia,” he said swirling the glass of blood in his hand and took a sip. “However, now that I won’t be drinking from you, I’ll invest in a couple of cases of Royalty.”

I took another bite of my steak and chewed it before I asked my next question.  “Do you breathe?  I’ve noticed that occasionally you sigh or something like that, but your chest doesn’t move up and down most of the time.”

“No, vampires don’t need to breathe to survive.  That’s one of the things that make us dead,” I scowled at him and he chuckled.  “I know you don’t think of me or any vampire as dead. It’s very endearing that you still have the same belief as you did before. Vampire’s breathe only to take in smells and occasionally we take in a deep breath or sigh.  It’s a very human action that some of us have not lost during our time as a vampire.  I believe I only do it when I’m around you,” he said with an amused smile.

“While you finish eating I’m going to take a quick shower.  If you need anything you know where to find me.”

OoOoO

We had only been on the road, headed to Amelia’s house, for a couple of minutes when I asked Eric if he’d answer myquestion from before about why he acts differently than other vampires.

“I haven’t always acted this way,” he said with a glance toward me.  “I certainly didn’t before I met you.  I would have to say that you bring out the best in me.  You have brought out the humanity and the goodness in me that I hadn’t acknowledged for many centuries. I told you about how we would have to act differently in front of others. Remember?”  I nodded my head.  “The same would be true for other vampires.”

“So you’re saying that some vampires that I encounter may be nice, but I’ll never see it.”

“Correct, but all vampires that were turned before the reveal learned to hide their emotions. We were taught how to survive and to survive we needed to be cruel and ruthless. Vampires that were turned after the reveal have not learned the hard lessons that their ancestors did, but there are not as many that have been newly turned.  Also, I don’t think many of them have met a human like you to remind them of their humanity,” he said with a smile as he glanced over at me.  “To bring out the good in them. I believe our bond has helped me get in touch with the human emotions that I’d long since buried.”

“I’ve really done all that for you?”

“Indeed you have, min älskare.”

[ ](http://i2.wp.com/gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/03/apartment.jpg)

We had pulled up outside of an apartment building with red brick, iron railings, and lots of hanging plants and flower boxes on the railing. I was once again nervous about meeting Amelia.

“What are you nervous about?” He asked.

“What if I can hear her thoughts and can’t block them out?”

“Then we’ll quickly talk to her about a spell or potion and then we’ll leave. I will not have you in distress if I can help it. Trust me,” he said.

“I trust you,” I said while giving him a small smile and looking at him.

Eric pushed the button to release my seat belt and was quickly at my door with his hand out for me to take. As we walked along the sidewalk, I tried to take in the surrounding building.

[ ](http://i1.wp.com/gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/03/courtyard-2.jpg)

Off to my right, there was an archway, and beyond that was a little courtyard with flowers, plants, vines growing on the walls, a rocking chair, and a small table with chairs. When we reached the door, I noticed a strange smell coming from inside the apartment.

“What’s that smell?” I asked.

“Magic,” he replied, looking down at me. “Are you ready?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” I said with a hesitant smile.

Eric knocked on the door and we quietly waited for Amelia to answer. After only a few moments, a pretty redhead with green eyes opened the door.

  
[ ](http://i2.wp.com/gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/02/amelia.jpg)

Amelia

“Sookie, it’s so good to see you!” Amelia exclaimed as she threw herself at me. As Amelia wrapped her arms around me and hugged, my body stiffened.

“Witch, get off of her. She doesn’t know who you are,” Eric said with a growl.

Amelia quickly stood back and apologized. I moved to stand closer to Eric and wrapped my hand around his arm. I looked up that him to confirm that my action was okay. He smiled down at me and gave me a slight nod.

“Please come in,” Amelia said.

“Are you going to be able to help my bonded?” Eric asked getting straight to the point.

“Yes, I’ve spent the day going through my spell books and I’ve already made the mixture. I have to put it on the area where we want the hair to grow and then wait for it to grow to the correct length. Once it’s at the length that we want, we’ll wash off the mixture and it will stop the growth. This will likely take at least a couple hours.”

“Can you give us a minute?” Eric asked her.

“Sure, I’ll go get the mixture. Let me know when you’re ready,” Amelia said.

“Sookie, if this is going to take a few hours then I need to check in with the Queen. I was going to wait until we were done here, take you back to the hotel, get you some food, and then go check in. I’m sorry I didn’t mention this sooner. Would you be okay if I left you here while I check in?  Are you comfortable with Amelia?”

“Why can’t I go with you?” I asked, starting to feel very uncomfortable and a little panicky.

Eric pulled me close to his body, brought his lips to my ear, and whispered, “This is not something we should discuss here. The Queen doesn’t know of you. I’ll explain later,” he pulled back to look me in the eyes. “Please understand,” he said with an imploring look on his face.

“You’ll explain later?” I asked. He nodded his head. “I’ll be fine… Just don’t leave me any longer than you have to.”

“I won’t and I’m sorry I have to do this.”  He turned and walked toward what looked to be the kitchen. “We’re ready,” he said to Amelia.

[ ](http://i2.wp.com/gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/03/kitchen2.jpg)

Amelia walked in with a bowl in her hands. “We’re going to put it on in the bathroom, so if you’ll follow me we can get started.”

I silently followed Amelia down the hall into the bathroom. She sat the bowl down on the counter and motioned toward the toilet. “Sit,” she said as she stirred the mixture with something that looked like a paintbrush. I looked over at Eric and he gave me a small nod,  I sat down and waited for Amelia.

[ ](http://i2.wp.com/gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/03/bathroom3.jpg)

Eric stood in the doorway of the bathroom, his large frame taking it up. Amelia looked to Eric, “I’m ready. Can we begin?” He gave her curt nod.

Amelia came and stood in front of me with the bowl and paintbrush in her hand. “Can you turn your body a little to the left?”

I turned my body to the left and all I could see was her shower. She started painting the mixture onto the left side of my head. I knew something was happening when my scalp started to tingle.

“It’s starting to tingle,” I said a little nervously.

“That means it’s working,” Amelia said with a big grin on her face. She continued to paint the mixture on and hummed to herself for a few more minutes. “All done. Now all we have to do is wait,” she said. “It’s going to take a few hours since your hair’s so long.  Can I get you anything to eat or drink?”

“Not right now, but thank you.”

Amelia quickly rinsed out the bowl in the sink and then we all went back into the living room. As soon as Amelia and I sat down, Eric spoke.

“I need to check in with the Queen,” he said to Amelia. “I’ll be back as soon as I can. Do not let anything happen to her.”

Eric strode over to me and then knelt down in front of me, taking both my hands in one of his.  Once again, I felt a small bit ofelectricity flow between us. “You’ll be fine, remember I can feel you through our bond,” I nodded. “The Queen’s compound is not far from here, I can be back here if you need me in under two minutes,” he said and then picked up my left hand and kissed the back of it.

He stood and gave Amelia a pointed look. “She’ll be fine I promise. I won’t let anything happen to her,” she said with a wave of her hand.

I watched Eric as he left and then finally took in my surroundings. Amelia’s living room had hardwood floors, paintings and pictures all over the walls, and lots of doors leading out onto the balcony.

  


 

 

“You really don’t remember me,” she asked with a slight pout.

“I don’t remember anyone,” I said with a shrug. “I can remember what things are but that’s about it,” I said as I continued to look around the room. “Have I been here before?”

“Yeah, a couple of times. Mostly I come to Shreveport though. Come on; let’s go out onto the balcony, that will help us from having to smell the potion,” she said with her nose scrunched up.

[ ](http://i1.wp.com/gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/03/balcony.jpg)

We walked out one of the doors that led to the balcony. It was dark out but on the railing, there were twinkling lights trailing along it. We each sat down in chairs and looked out into the night.

“What do you do when you come to Shreveport?” I asked and looked back over at her.

“I’ve put wards on businesses and houses for Supes.”

“What are Supes?”  I asked her.

“Supernaturals.  Supes,” she said with a grin.

“Oh, what do the wards do?”

“Mainly the wards I perform keep out anyone who has ill intent,” she said.

My eyes widened in surprise, “Wow!  That’s really cool you can do that. Can all witches do that?”

“If they’ve trained they can,” she replied with a proud smile.

“Are we friends?” Amelia nodded and gave me a big smile. “What can you tell me about Eric?”

“Everyone knows not to mess with Eric Northman. He can be cruel and ruthless like all vampires, but he is also known to be honorable and loyal. He’s someone you want on your side that’s for sure,” she said with a smile. “He’s a good boss. He pays well and I know that all the employees at your bar have health insurance and are paid more than most waitresses. I don’t know of any other place that gives their waitresses benefits.”

“What do you think of him as a vampire? Do you know any other vampires?”

Amelia laughed so hard she was doubled over. Once she calmed down she said, “Of course I know other vampires. I’m a witch and I deal with all kinds of supernatural creatures. I have to say, for a vampire, Eric Northman is a good one. There aren’t many of those.”

“That’s what Eric said. I mean about other vampires, not many of them are good. I haven’t been around any others except for Eric and he seems really nice.”

“Well, I’m pretty sure you get a totally different Eric than the rest of us, but anyone can see that he loves you and I’ve only been around you both a few times. I can tell you that’s not common in the vampire world. You’re a lucky girl.”

“Why’s that?” I asked.

“You’ve got one of the strongest vampires there is who would do anything for you. There are rumors that he’s a sex God,” she said while moving her eyebrows up and down.

I blushed from my head to my toes or at least it felt like it. “I’ll have to take your word for it.”

“What are you waiting for?”

“It’s only been two days and I don’t know him. I know that we’re married, but I don’t remember it.  I have to get to know him first.”

Amelia took my hand from across the table and patted it. “I’m sorry this happened to you. You’re the nicest person I’ve ever met and you don’t deserve this, but at least you have Eric to help you. Let’s head to the bathroom. Your hair looks like it’s just about the right length. If it’s a little too long or short we’ll just trim it,” she said with a reassuring smile.

Amelia helped me wash the mixture out of my now long hair. She thought it was a little uneven and decided to give it a quick trim. When she was done she left me in the bathroom so I could dry my hair.

Once I was done drying my hair, I walked into the living room to find Eric standing there. I didn’t know what came over me but I rushed over to him, wrapped my arms around him in a hug, and laid my head on his chest. Eric arms enveloped me, squeezing me closer to his body.

After a moment, he pulled back and looked down at me. “Are you okay?” He asked.

“I’m fine. Sorry, I don’t know what came over me, but I’m glad you’re back. Did everything go okay?”

“All is well,” he said as he lifted a piece of hair from the left side of my head. “Thank you for your service, witch,” he said as he passed her a thick envelope. “Did you eat?” He asked me.

“No, we just talked but I am getting a little hungry.”

“Then we must get you something to eat. Any recommendations?” He said as he looked over to Amelia.

“I say… go to Broussard’s.  Its open late and caterers to vampires. The address is 819 Conti Street,” she said and looked over to me. “Here’s my number if you’re up tomorrow and want to get lunch, let me know. You can call me anytime, now that I’m one of the people you know.”

“Thank you Amelia for helping with my hair and I’ll give you a call sometime. Maybe even tomorrow for lunch if I’m up,” I said, giving her a small smile.

I liked Amelia.  She was nice and she seemed to be telling me the truth about Eric, but I didn’t feel a connection with her like I did with Eric.

OoOoO

Eric and I went to Broussard’s and sat outside in their courtyard area.  We each received menus, but I noticed that Eric’s was different. His was tall but only one page. I had no idea what I would like so I had Eric order for me.  He ordered me theBlackened Louisiana Lump Crab Cake and the Pecan Crusted Jumbo Gulf Shrimp and a Royalty Blended for himself.

[ ](http://i1.wp.com/gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/03/broussards-restaurant-new-orleans-courtyarddarker.jpg)

Eric certainly seemed to know what foods I would like. Everything that I ate was delicious.  I told him that I had asked Amelia about him but he wasn’t shocked.  He even praised me for it, that I was acting like my old Sookie self. Although I liked Amelia, I didn’t feel any sort of connection to her like I did with Eric.  I had a feeling that made him happy if the small smile on his face was any indicator.

OoOoO

When we arrived back at the hotel, I got ready for bed.  Although I liked the hotel, I wanted to go home and get  reacquainted with my surroundings.  I knew I needed to get on with my life even if I couldn’t remember it.  And I’m pretty sure that Eric did too.

When I walked back into the bedroom Eric was lounging on the bed with only his sleep pants on.  I sat down on the bed with my legs crossed and tried my hardest to keep my eyes on Eric’s face and not his chest.

“Can you tell me now about the queen?” I asked him.  I couldn’t understand why this queen didn’t know anything about me if we had been married for four years.

“As a sheriff I work for her.  Each state has a king or queen and every vampire in that state owes fealty to their king or queen.  We must do whatever he or she demands of us.  We both decided when I learned of your telepathy that we’d try and keep you off her radar.  She cannot take you away from me since we are married, pledged, and bonded, but she’s very unpredictable.”

“Now that your telepathy seems to be gone and you can’t read anyone, I don’t see a problem with her learning of our marriage.”

“Then why didn’t you have me come with you tonight?  We could have gone after my hair was fixed.”

Eric sat up on the bed and moved so that our knees were touching. He grabbed my hands in one of his and placed a kiss on the back of each of them before looking back up at me.  I could feel myself blush at the contact of his luscious, pink lips.

“Lover, you have been through a lot these last couple of days,” he said and then sighed.  “I think we need to wait for you and the queen to meet until you know who you and I are.  It certainly wouldn’t look good for us to say that we’re married and you know none of it.  It shouldn’t be a problem though. I am rarely called to visit the queen. There are seldom problems with my area and when there are they are handled quickly and efficiently.  Also, Area Five makes more than all the areas combined except for here in New Orleans.  I do my job and I do it very well.  I don’t expect to hear from the queen for quite some time.”

“Why did you have to check in?”

“I couldn’t risk any vampire seeing me in the area and not check in.  It could look like I was trying to hide that I was here.  Vampires are very distrustful of each other, of anyone. The only vampire a vampire can trust is the one you make.  It’s known how old I am, so it would be no problem for me to kill the queen and takeover. We don’t want anyone to think I have anything to hide.”

“I guess I understand.  You’re just letting her know you’re in the neighborhood.  Did you tell her why you’re here?”

“I told her I was here to discuss some ideas that I have for cleaning up New Orleans.  We’ve had a few hurricanes hit New Orleans and it has never gotten back to it’s old glory.  I think that if we can get all the houses and businesses repaired and opened, it will bring back much of the cities previous inhabitants and bring tourism back to our state.”

“Did you already have ideas to do this?”

“Yes, you and I have actually talked a lot about it and you helped come up with some of the ideas yourself.  If she listens and does half of the ideas that I told her, the area will be back to making quite the profit.  And that will make her majesty very happy.”

“I guess it’s a good thing we talked about it so you’d have a good excuse.  I only wish I could remember,” I said and looked down at our joined hands.  “I wish I could remember you.”  I whispered.

“I do too,” he replied as he cupped one side of my face.  “You’re still my Sookie.  You may ask more questions now, but that’s to be expected.  You asked lots of questions when we first meet and got together since not many outside of the supernatural community knew of our existence.”

“So you don’t mind all the questions?”  I earnestly asked him.

“No, min älskare, I don’t mind.  I have told you to ask me anything you want.  Any time.  We can pretend that this is just a do over. The hard part’s already over.”

“What’s the hard part?” I asked him.

“That a vampire as old as I, has opened up his heart and fell in love.”


	4. Options

  We were quiet for most of the ride home from New Orleans.  I could tell that Eric had something on his mind by the serious look on his face and his total concentration on the road ahead of us.

Once we were home, Eric and I went our separate ways.  He went to take our bags up to our room, and I walked around our loft trying to get my bearings in my home.  A home I didn’t remember, but I wanted to be able to find what I needed and not have to rely on Eric for everything.

I was just walking through what I had decided to call the sun room because of how bright it was during the day with all the windows that lined the room facing out towards the deck when I caught a glowing silhouette outside.

[ ](http://www.iamgyllene.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/terrasse-loft-kiev-2.jpg)

It only took me a moment to realize that it was Eric who was sitting outside on one of the loungers sideways, looking up at the sky.

[ ](http://www.iamgyllene.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/loft-kiev-ukraine.jpg)

 

I walked through the house looking for a door that led outside. I finally found it at the top of the stairs in the living room.  I stopped a few feet away from him, uncertain as to what to do since he hadn’t acknowledged me.  I was getting ready to head back inside, to leave Eric to his thoughts, when he stretched out an arm toward me while still gazing at out the night.

I slowly walked over to him, feeling nervous as to why Eric was acting this way.  His arm was still stretched out when I came into its reach, he grabbed my hand and led me to sit beside him.

I turned to look up at him.  We sat there for a few moments before he turned and looked down at me, tucking a piece of hair behind my ear.

“What wrong?  It must be bad,” I said to him.

He gave me a small smile, “I’m unsure if it’s bad or not.  Definitely, something for me to be concerned about though.”

“Do you want to talk about it?  I know that I won’t be much help, but I’d be happy to listen,” I said with a shrug.

“Min älskare, you always help me,” he said while trailing his knuckles down my arm until he reached my hand.  Eric raised my hand to his mouth and placed a light kiss on upon it.  “Right before we left to come home, I received a text from Pam stating that a vampire had come to check in.”

I nodded my head encouragingly.  That didn’t seem to be a big deal, but what did I know.

“When she asked for his address to put into our system…  the address he gave was in Bon Temps.”

“That’s where I’m from, right?” I asked.

He looked out into the night once more before turning back and nodding his head in agreement.

“And this has you concerned?”

“There are no vampires that live in your hometown. It’s a very small town; that’s biased against vampires.  No vampire would want to live there, and there’s also the knowledge that he’s from the queens court.  One wouldn’t leave the comforts of court to live in Bon Temps.”

We were quiet for a few moments.  Eric still held onto my hand, while he ran his thumb across the back of my hand.  I knew there must be something else.  He was still so quiet and contemplative.

“There’s something else, isn’t there?” I asked, removing my gaze from our hands and up to his devastatingly, beautiful face that was etched in concern.

“The address that he gave… it’s the house across the cemetery from where you grew up.  I don’t think it’s a coincidence.”

“You think he’s come for me,” I stated with little more than a whisper.

“I’m afraid so.  Not very many of the residences in Bon Temps actually believe that you can read minds,” he said and then let out a deep sigh.  “They treated you as if there was something wrong with you.  They called you ‘Crazy Sookie’, but no one really believed in what you could do.  I don’t think we will have a problem with them talking and the ones who know are your friends and can’t talk about it.”

“Why can’t they talk about it?”  I asked confused.  Had they been threatened?

“Once I found out about your telepathy, and we were together, I glamoured those who knew, so they would never be able to talk about it.  We knew that the reveal was coming and didn’t want any vampire to be able to come along and glamour it out of them.”

“It’s a good thing you did that then.”

“I believe it is.  Yes.”

“Anything else?”

He smirked at me, “You already seem to know me so well.”

“I’m learning, but I can see the worry and concern on your face.”

He let out a sigh before responding, “I wouldn’t be as worried if you had your memories.  You’ve always had a good intuition on who you could trust, who’s good and bad.  I hope that you still have that.  He’s coming into the bar tomorrow night to check in with me; maybe we will find out more then.”

He stood up and pulled me up with him.  “We should go inside. It’s getting late, and I want to show you how the security system works.”

I followed Eric inside and to the door that I went through to get outside.  He turned me around toward the wall, where there was a keypad by the door.

“You’ll also find a keypad by our bedroom door, and the front door.  We need to get you a new phone, yours was destroyed in the accident, on the phone there’s an app for the security system as well.  You can arm it from anywhere.  I’ll send an email to our dayman to get you one tomorrow, and I’ll teach you how to use it.”

He showed me what all the different buttons on the keypad could do from setting the alarm, to bringing down metal light-tight shutters throughout the whole house or by rooms or zones.  It seemed quite impressive.  Eric explained to me that security was very important to any vampire.  They didn’t want anyone to get to their daytime resting place, but it was also for me to feel safe if I was ever home alone and felt threatened in any way.

“Have I or we, ever had to use the security system?”

“No, we only use the alarm and the extra security at our bedroom door, but I wanted to have it just in case.”

“The other day, you said that I bought this place for you, for our anniversary.  Didn’t that cost a lot of money?”

“It did,” he said with a shrug.  “But we have plenty of money.  Actually, you used your own money to buy it.”

“Where did I get the money from?” I asked, curious as to where I would get that kind of money.  Money that was my own.

“Let’s go sit down,” he said and directed me to the sun room.  Once we sat down, Eric ran his hands through his hair before looking at me.  “You had a cousin that died.  She left you the money.”

“That was nice of her. That I had someone in my family that could and would do that for me, but what’s the big deal.  You didn’t have me sit down just to tell me about a cousin that died that I don’t even remember.”

“No, I didn’t.  Your cousin, you never even knew she was your cousin.  We only found about the other side of your family once she died.  Before that you thought she was a friend.”

“Other side?” I asked dumbfounded.

“Yes, when we first met, I knew you were different, you smell and taste better than any other human I’ve ever come into contact with.  When she died, we found out that you’re an eighth fairy.”

“Fairy?”

“Yes, fairy.  They look like any other human except they are very beautiful with pointy ears,” he said but stopped as I reached up to feel my ears.  Not pointy.  He let out a little chuckle before continuing.  “Most of them live in a different realm than ours and must go through portals to get between worlds.  They cannot lie, but will not always tell you everything and like to speak in riddles. They’re ferocious and very secretive about their ways. Therefore, I don’t know a lot about them. They stay away from vampires in general since their blood and smell are intoxicating to us. Your great-grandfather is the prince of fae.  You’ve only met him once, but, unfortunately, you can’t remember it.  We decided with him that it would be in your best interest for you to have zero contact.  No other fairies know of your existence, and we’d like to keep it that way.”

“Why?”  I asked after I let all this information absorb.

“If other fairies knew of your existence than they could try to hurt you to get back at your great-grandfather.  The supernatural world is very dangerous, and it was a decision based on your safety.”

“Am I intoxicating to you?” I asked.  Maybe that’s what this gorgeous creature was doing with me.  He couldn’t help himself.

“No, you only taste and smell better, but because of your smell you do receive a lot of unwanted attention from the supernatural community, in general, but especially from vampires,” he said while running his hand through his hair.

“I was hoping to be able to keep you away from Fangtasia for a little while longer.  Let you get your bearings so to speak.  All the vampires in my area know who you are and to leave you alone.  It’s only newcomers that we have to worry about not knowing, but you’ll be watched over at all times and no one will let anything happen to you.  If you want, you can stay home tomorrow while I go in, if you’re not ready.”

“I knew you’d have to get back to work sooner or later.  You can’t put life on hold for me forever.  I think I’ll be fine to go with you,” I said with a shrug.  “I might as well get back to my life, even if I don’t remember it.”

“Sookie, I would put the world on hold for you.  Never doubt, I would do anything for you.  The only reason I need to go in and meet this vampire when he checks in is because of the circumstances we discussed.  We don’t want to be caught unaware if he’s here for you.”

“How would the queen have learned about me?”

“That I don’t know, but if we find out that’s what he’s here for, then I’ll do everything in my power to find out.”

[ ](http://www.iamgyllene.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/sunrise-in-the-city-614750.jpg)

We sat quietly on the couch looking out and watching the night sky change colors.  From black, to blue, to orange and red.  It was beautiful seeing all the colors come to life.

Once I saw the sun slowly starting to come into view, I removed my gaze from the skyline and onto Eric.  He was already looking at me and smiled as I thoroughly took in the site before me.

[ ](http://www.iamgyllene.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/ericnorthman.jpg)

Even though I could only remember Eric for a few days, I knew he had to be one of the most gorgeous men in the world, but with the sun's light shining on him, he was even more so.

“You know you’re gorgeous don’t you,” I stated.

He gave me a small smile before chuckling, “I’m glad you think so, älskare.” He cupped one side of my face in one hand and used his other to run his fingers through my hair.  “It is you, who is gorgeous.  You’re the most beautiful woman in the world to me.”

I blushed from the compliment.  I had to be the luckiest girl in the world to have this man for my husband.  I swallowed hard before raising my hand and using my fingertips to trace along Eric’s face.

After staring into his blue eyes for so long I almost got lost, I let my fingers continue their journey down his body.  I caressed the firm coolness of his defined muscles as they tensed under my touch. I slowly ran them up the front of his chest, feeling each ridge; each muscle twitched as a reaction to my touch. It was intoxicating to feel his response, see his pupils dilate with desire, as I ran my hands from his pecs, smoothing them over his washboard abs and along his delicious V.

He closed his eyes momentarily, clearly enjoying my touch. I hesitantly leaned into him and brushed my lips against his. He ran the tip of his tongue over my bottom lip. His fingers slowly brushed against my cheeks, his palms resting to frame my face as he tenderly deepened the kiss. His lips were so soft, his tongue slowly, parting my lips and melting with mine. His devotion touched me, taking my breath away with each caress.

I sighed into the kiss as my fingers dug into his shoulders.  I could feel Eric press his body into mine, his impressive erection pressed into my belly. He continued his tender and relentless assault on my mouth.

He stopped abruptly, placing his hands beside my shoulders and braced himself, letting his forehead drop to my shoulder so that his nose and mouth were buried against my neck, shaking his head, before he lifted it up and pressed on final chaste kiss to my lips.

“We need to stop now, or I won’t be able to stop.  I only have so much control and with you…” he shook his head before cupping my face once again.  “Thank you, for sharing this sunrise with me,” he said giving me a beautiful smile. “I should get you to bed.  It’s late, and you’re tired.”

I agreed that it was late, but I also felt rejected from his abrupt end of our kiss. I walked slowly to our bedroom and into the bathroom to get ready for bed.

When I walked out Eric was already in bed, laying down with his eyes closed.  I wasn’t sure if he was asleep yet or not.  I slid into bed on my side, closed my eyes, and hoped to fall asleep soon.

“Sookie?”

“Yeah?” I asked quietly.

“I want you to know that I want you,” he said before taking my hand and running it along his torso until I felt his erection straining against the fabric of his sleeping pants.  I jerked my hand back and pulled it to my chest, feeling both aroused and embarrassed.

“Eric!” I shrieked.  My face stained with my blush.

He rolled over onto his side to face me and retook my hand.  I tried to pull it away, but he held on tight.

[ ](http://www.iamgyllene.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/laying-in-bed.jpg)

“I promise to keep our hands above the covers,” he said with a mischievous smile on his face.  “I only wanted you to see how much I truly want you.  It’s not something you should ever have to question.”

“Then why did you stop our kiss?” I said looking down.

“Look at me, min älskare,” he said as he brought his fingers underneath my chin so I’d look at him.  Once our eyes locked onto one another's, he placed a soft kiss upon my lips before pulling back.

“You may be ready to kiss me, but I doubt that you’re ready for more than that.  I didn’t mean to make you feel unwanted, but I needed to get myself under control before I ravished you until I died for the day. I’m sorry for making you feel that way.  Do you understand now?”

I nodded my head as best as I could while laying down.  “Can you tell me about the first time we kissed?  Do you remember?”

“I remember everything from the time I became a vampire, but even if I didn’t, I would definitely remember our first kiss.”

“When was it?” I asked as I scooted my body closer.  Our faces only inches apart.

“After our first date,  I walked you to your door.  We kissed until I had just enough time to get home before the sun came up,” I watched as he closed his eyes for a moment before his cerulean colored eyes locked onto mine.

“I think we were both nervous.  I can’t remember a time since I’ve been a vampire that I’ve been that anxious and nervous about kissing someone.  Maybe not even in my human life.  I hadn’t kissed anyone in over a hundred years, and I hadn’t wanted to kiss anyone since I had become a vampire.  This kiss I wanted.”

I smiled at him and traced a finger over his cheek and then his lips.  He kissed the tip of my finger and continued on with our first kiss.

“At first our lips lightly touched.  I wasn’t sure how you’d react to my cold body.  You knew I was a vampire, but we hadn’t yet discussed all that it entailed.  I was shocked that you knew that I was a vampire and that I couldn’t glamour it out of you.”

“I shouldn’t have been worried.  You ran your hands up to my shoulder and then into my hair before pulling our bodies closer together.  When I traced my tongue along your lips, and you granted me entrance I thought I’d died and gone to Valhalla.  You tasted exquisite, and I knew then that I’d never want to stop kissing you.”

“That must have been some kiss,” I said as I watched his eyes slowly started to close.  “I wish I could remember it.”

“Me too, lover.  Jag älskar dig.  I’ll see you when I rise.”

I leaned over and placed a chaste kiss upon his lips, “Good night, Eric.  I’ll see you when you rise.”

OoOoO

[ ](http://www.iamgyllene.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/cuisine-loft-2.jpg)

I was cleaning my glass out in the sink from the sweet tea I had with my meal.  I had only made a sandwich and tried a couple of different brands of chips that we already had opened.  I assumed that if they were opened, I must like them.  It wasn’t like Eric was eating them.

I was going to have to figure out something else to make pretty soon before I was tired of eating sandwiches for almost every meal.

I was just getting ready to place the glass back in the cabinet when I heard a strange, deep voice from behind me call out my name.  I shrieked and dropped the glass where it shattered into pieces all over the floor.

[ ](http://www.iamgyllene.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/271113_242642335760694_1428072_n1.jpg)

Everything happened all at once.  I turned around to see a dark headed man, with green eyes who was almost as tall as Eric wearing jeans and a flannel shirt.

He shouted out. “Oh shit, Sookie, I’m sorry I scared you,” while he held his hands up in the air and walked toward me.

I saw a flash and the next thing I knew Eric was crouched down in front of me growling. What surprised me the most was that Eric was wet and naked.

[ ](http://www.iamgyllene.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/butt1-alex.jpg)

“Whoa, hold up.  What’s going on here?" The man questioned.  "Eric, I just came to drop off the phone you had me get for Sookie.  I didn’t mean to scare her.  I’m sorry, Sookie,” the strange man said looking to me.

Eric turned around to look at me concerned, but all I could see was Eric in all his naked glory.  I couldn’t stop my eyes as they took in his wet body until they reached his sizable length.  I licked my lips and started to step toward him when pain shot through my left foot.

I was quickly in Eric’s arms and placed upon the kitchen counter.  He lightly gripped my foot and crouched down to get a better look at it.  After only a few seconds, he stood with my foot still in his cool hands.

“You’ve got a couple of pieces of glass in your foot,” he stated and then turned toward the unknown man, glaring at him.  “I’m going to pull them out and then lick the wounds closed.  If they still hurt, I can apply some of my blood to them, but you should be fine.  Are you ready?”

I looked down at my foot and then to the man in our kitchen before I nodded in agreement.  Eric pulled the glass from my foot so carefully that  I didn’t feel any pain.  I only saw two beads of blood where the glass had been pulled out.

Eric lowered his head and quickly licked the blood away, igniting a dull ache in my belly.  Once he was done, he placed a sweet kiss to the bottom of my foot.

“All done,” he said with a sexy smirk on his face.  He knew exactly what he was doing to me.

“Thank you,” I replied after clearing my throat.  “Can you tell me who this man is?”

“Of course, dear one,” he said while putting an arm around my shoulders.  “This is Alcide, our day man.  He brought over your new phone.”

“Oh, nice to meet you,” I said while holding out my hand to shake his.

Alcide gave me a quizzical look and a side look toward Eric before shaking my hand.

“Like I said, boss, I’ve got the new phone.  Is there anything else you need from me tonight?”

“We’re going to need you to get Sookie some frozen meals since she doesn’t remember how to cook.  Don’t get her those cheap ones either than will smell up the house with their horrid odor.  Get her real meals that are frozen with instructions.  Do you think you can do that?”

“Sure, no problem.  It costs more, but I know that money isn’t an issue,” he said before looking over at me.  “You really don’t remember me?”  I shook my head no. I didn’t remember anyone.  At least now once I met someone, I would remember them.  Alcide looked to Eric, “Is there any hope she’ll get her memory back?”

Eric looked down at me with a sad smile and shook his head, “No, I gave her my blood right away, but I’m afraid it was too long after the accident.”

“Eric, you need to go put on some clothes.  We have a guest in our house,” I said.  I was blushing all the way to the tips of my toes.  This surely wasn’t normal.  Eric didn’t normally stand around the house with no clothes on.

“I assure you that Alcide doesn’t mind.  Remember I told you that he’s a werewolf.  Every full moon he’s around his pack, and they all strip off their clothes.  It’s nothing he hasn’t seen before.”

“It’s not right.  Please put some clothes on for me,” I said looking up at him.

“For you,” he said. “I’ll be back in a moment.”

I couldn’t help but watch Eric saunter out of the kitchen, and when he was finally gone, I turned to Alcide to find him looking at me, studying me.

“Do you remember, Eric?” Alcide asked.

“No, I don’t remember anyone or anything from before the accident.”

“And you’re fine staying here with him?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

“He’s a pretty good guy for a vampire, but do you know what you’re giving up by staying with him?  Don’t you want to be with someone that has a warm body?  A pulse? See the sun?  Have children?”

“There’s nothing wrong with Eric,” I said, placing my hands on my hips.  “I’ve seen the sun, just this morning I watched the sunrise with Eric.  I don’t mind at all that he has no pulse or that he isn’t as warm as I am.  And children?  What if I had a child right now?  I wouldn’t remember my child.  Or how to take care of it.  I don’t feel the need right now,” I said, letting out a sigh.

“Why are you saying these things to me?  Eric loves me.  He’s the only person I know,” I whimpered out, before tears welled up in my eyes and started to fall down my face.

“You don’t know anyone else because that’s the way he wants it.  He’s keeping you locked up in here.  Isolating you!”

“What the hell is going on here?” Eric shouted as he walked into the room before he wrapped me in his arms and pulled me to his chest.

“I was just letting her know that she has other options.  She doesn’t have to stay with you.  She can find a real husband.  Someone with a pulse and who can give her children.  She doesn’t even know you.  Does she know what you’re capable of?”

“Enough!” Eric shouted.  It was so loud all the windows shook.  I cringed against him, frozen.

“I’m sorry, Sookie.  I didn’t mean to scare you,” he said while stroking my hair and rubbing my back.

“Mutt, you better get out of our house.  I want you out of my area before I rise tomorrow night.”

“I just wanted to give her options.” Alcide desperately said.

“She’s my wife!”  Eric’s arms tightened around me, and I couldn’t help but relaxed into his embrace.  “If she wants options, she only has to ask.  Now leave before I tear you limb from limb.”

“That’s fine,” Alcide spat. “I’m out of here, but Sookie, do you see who you’re living with?  He’s a vampire, not someone who’s all sweet and cuddly,” he said, before storming out of the loft.

I blew out a breath that I didn’t even know I was holding before I looked over toward Eric.

“Was that typical?” I asked him.

“No, if it were he would have lost his job long ago and maybe his life along with it.” Eric growled, still looking at the door Alcide had walked through.  After a moment, he looked down at me and his features softened.  “Are you okay?” he asked me, looking concerned once again.

“Yeah, I guess.”

“Sookie,” he said, walking over to me. He cupped the side of my face with his hand and rubbed his thumb along my bottom lip.

“I know that you don’t know me or love me right now,” he said before looking away for a brief moment.  When he looked back at me, I watched his adam's apple bob as he swallowed.  “And you may never fall in love with me again.”

“Eric,” I said to interrupt him, but he shushed me by moving his thumb to cover my lips.

“Let me finish,” he replied.  I nodded for him to continue.  “Now that your telepathy is gone or fortified so strong that you no longer can read minds.  You can be with any man you want.”

What?! Was he tired of waiting for me?  Had I become too much for him to handle?  Too much of a burden?

“Kära en, whatever you’re thinking, you’re wrong.  I want you more than anything. Anything! But if you ever want anything else or anyone else then I will let go.  Not because I want to, but because I only want you happy.”

“You could do that?” I asked in a whisper.

“I would do it for you.  It would be the hardest thing that I’d ever have to do, but if it is ever what you wanted, I would,” he said before kissing my forehead.  “We have more to discuss, but it will have to wait until we get home from Fangtasia.  We need to leave soon, so go upstairs and finish getting dressed.”

As I walked upstairs to freshen up and put on my shoes and socks, a lone tear slid down my cheek.

I may not know Eric, but after everything he had shown me, how much he cares about me, I knew that I’d never be able to find a better man.

And I’m sure I didn’t want to even try.


	5. Warm Feelings

We were on our way to Fangtasia and I thought I was going to throw up I was so nervous.  Maybe I should have just stayed home.  Maybe I wasn’t ready for this and should have given myself more time.

“Sookie,” Eric said as he placed his hand on my knee and gave it a little squeeze.  “Why are you so nervous?”

“What if I’m not ready for this?  What if I do something wrong?”

“You won’t do anything wrong and if you want, I will take you home, but I promise I won’t let anything happen to you.”

Little by little I felt my nervousness slowly leave my body and a sense of calm wash over me.  I looked over at Eric, his attention was on the road.

“Is that you?  Did you do that?  Make me feel calm?” I asked him after I enjoyed a few moments of the tranquil feeling.

“It is.  I can stop if you want me to,” he replied.

“No, I like it,” I said as I turned my body toward him in the seat.  “What’s it like to feel someone’s emotions?”

“Most of the time it’s a good feeling unless the person to whom you are bound to is in pain or something along those lines.  I can barely remember a time when I haven’t been bound to someone. First, my maker, then Pam, and now you. It’s something I’m quite used to,” he said with a shrug.  “A vampire can close down a bond. Most do, they don’t want to feel someone else unless they have to.  The only one I leave open all the time is the one I have with you,” he said looking over at me and giving me a sweet smile.  “I always enjoy what you’re feeling, especially when you’re happy because of me or when you used to send me your love,” he said. I could barely hear him at the end.

I placed my hand on top of his and squeezed.  I hated knowing that I was making him sad in any way.  “Will you let me feel you through the bond?  I’d like to know what it feels like.  Is it the same for me as it is for you?”

“I believe I feel you more than you will be able to feel me.  I cannot really be sure.  I’ve never known anyone that was bonded before they became a vampire for them to be able to compare. You really want to feel me?”

“Yeah, I think so.  Did you ever used to block me?”

“I didn’t.  I promised you when we decided to bond that I would only block the bond from you if I was in pain or bloodlust,” he said with a quick glance my way.

“What’s bloodlust?”  I asked him.  I had a feeling it wasn’t anything good.

He tilted his head to the side for a moment, trying to come up with the best way to answer me.  “It’s a state a vampire goes into where they do not have much control over themselves.  They want to kill, feed, and fuck.  If I were to feed from you or have sex with you during that time, I wouldn’t have much control and I’m afraid I would hurt you.  It could be too overwhelming for you to feel.”

“Have you ever been in bloodlust around me or had to block it from me?” I questioned.

“No, up until your accident I have never blocked the bond from you.”

We had just pulled into Fangtasia’s parking lot and into a parking spot.  Eric turned his body toward me as best as he could in the small interior of the car.

“Are you ready?” I nodded my head in agreement.

Slowly I started to feel different emotions swirling through me.  I could tell they were not mine, but it was nice all the same.  I closed my eyes as I tried to differentiate each one.  Happiness. Contentment.  Hopefulness. Calm.  There was this warmth that filled my body and radiated around my heart.  It made me feel so safe and happy.  I never wanted the feeling to end.  I felt a gigantic smile spread across my face, and I slowly opened my eyes to find a small, shy smile upon Eric’s own face.

“What is that warm feeling?” I asked, closing my eyes so I could indulge in the sensation once again.  “I can feel it radiatingthrough my whole body.  It has to be the best feeling in the whole world,” I said, opening my eyes once again.

“It is,” he said, while tilting his head to the side once more before reaching his hand out to my face and tracing his fingertips along my cheekbones, jaw, and finally my lips.  “What you are feeling is my love for you.”

“This is you loving me?” I asked, pointing to my heart.

“Yes,” he said, before I launched myself over the console of the car, wrapping my arms around his neck.  Hugging him with all my might.  I slowly withdrew myself and placed a lingering kiss on his soft, pink lips before I sat back in my seat.

I didn’t think it was possible, but during our hug all the feelings that I was getting from Eric swelled and amplified. If I thought I liked feeling him through the bond before, now I couldn’t get enough.

“Will you keep the bond open from now on?  I want to keep feeling you.”

“If that is what you want,” Eric said with a wide smile and hooded eyes.  “I will go back to our old agreement unless you ask me to stop.”

“I don’t think I’ll ask you to stop,” I said.

“If you need me to I will.  You only have to let me know.” His gaze dropped to my lips for a moment before returning to my eyes. “Are you ready to go inside?”

I looked out the window to get a good view.  I don’t know what I imagined, but this wasn’t it.

[ ](http://i2.wp.com/gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/fangtasia.jpg)

From the outside it was a plain white building with a red awning. The parking lot was full.  We were parked in one of three spots that had a sign in front of them stating they were for the owner. Do Not Park for Penalty of Draining and Dismemberment.

[ ](http://i2.wp.com/gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/parking-sign.jpg)

I pointed to the sign.  “Would someone really do this?”

Eric just shook his head, “Pam came up with those.  She hates having her parking space taken.  So far it’s worked.”

We walked in the back door and into an office.  Immediately Eric went behind the desk and sat down and started going through paperwork.  There was stacks and stacks of it.  Finally he found a folder and held it up.

“Compton’s file,” he said before I streak of black came into the room.  I let out a shriek and held one hand to my chest.  My heart-felt like it was going to beat right out of me.  Standing in front of me was a beautiful, blonde woman in all black.

She looked at Eric and then at me.  “Mistress, I’m so happy to see you again.  Are you well?” Her light blue eyes raked over me and her blood-red lips curled into a smirk that reminded me of Eric’s.

“Mistress?” I asked looking over at Eric.  “Why did she call me that?  I thought I’m your wife.”

Eric glared at Pam before getting up and coming over to me. “You are my wife.  Pam called you that because she knows you hate it.”

“That’s not very nice,” I said looking at her.  With an amused look in her eyes, she simply tilted her head to the side and raised an eyebrow.  “But why Mistress?”

Pam stood with her hands of her hips and tapped her foot, looking impatient.

[ ](http://i0.wp.com/gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/mspam.jpg)

“I am her master and you are her mistress.  Don’t worry there are very few occasions where she has to call you by the title,” he looked over at Pam. “We are going out to the bar and will meet with Bill in my booth.  Man the door.”

“You know,” Pam drawled.  “I miss my friend and would like to spend time with her.”

“You should’ve thought about that before calling her mistress,” Eric replied.

Pam responded with a dramatic eye roll and quietly harrumphed as she made her way to man the door.

[ ](http://i2.wp.com/gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/fangtasiafrontdoor.jpg)

We walked down the hall and into a loud room of red and black.  It was filled with people all in black.  Mostly leather.  They were what I would guess to be vampires, since they were moving so fast, dancing up on these boxes with a pole going up the middle.  I noticed signs placed throughout the room saying No Biting on Premises.  I really hoped all the vampires abided by those signs.

[ ](http://i2.wp.com/gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/nobitting.jpg)

Once we sat down in the only booth that was left open I looked down at my clothes.  I was in jeans, a light yellow v-neck sweater, and boots.  I looked like none of the people here.  Even Eric was dressed in all black.

Actually I hadn’t seen him in anything but black.  I knew he had some color to his wardrobe from looking at his side of the closet.

“Why did you let me dress like this when everyone else is wearing black?”

“You’ve always dressed in whatever you want,” he shrugged.  “You were already dressed when I got up and I didn’t even think about it.”  He placed his hand on my knee and squeezed it before turning to talk into my ear.  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

“I’m fine.  It’s not like I really want to dress like them.  I just didn’t know there was a dress code.”

He chuckled, “There isn’t, but for some reason they think we like them dressing like that.  That it makes them more appealing.”

[ ](http://i2.wp.com/gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/customers-2.jpg)

“Then why is Pam dressed the way she is and you’re in all black too.”

“Pam only dresses that way here.  It’s her work uniform.  Outside of work she’s normally dressed in pink or something like it.”

“I can’t imagine her in pink.”

“Once you get to know her again you will,” he chuckled.

“Why don’t I have to wear a uniform?”

“I prefer you to not dress like our customers or like Pam.  I want you to dress like you.”

Pam walked a man over to our table.  He had brown eyes and hair with long sideburns.  He was dressed in khaki pants, a white Henley, and a brown leather jacket.  He stood in front of our booth and nodded to Eric. Eric indicated for him to sit down.

[ ](http://i0.wp.com/gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/bill_compton.jpg)

This must be Bill.

“You’re petitioning to reside in my area.  Is this permanent or temporary?”

Bill’s cold eyes looked over at me and he regarded me for a moment before returning his full attention back to Eric.  “I did not realize pets were permitted to be witnesses of our… personal affairs.”

“You would do well to remember that you are in  _my_  area Compton.  What I do and how I run it is none of your concern,” Eric replied in a steady, commanding tone.  In this moment I felt like I shouldn’t be here and Eric must have felt my uneasiness because he gently grabbed my hand, entwined our fingers together and placed them on the table.

Bill eyed our joined hands and his eyebrows raised slightly when he caught sight of my wedding ring.

“Of course Sheriff Northman my apologies,” Bill smoothly said before looking at me with growing interest.

“I’m a collector of fine items and antiques and I must say, that is a very beautiful ring, Ms…”

“Northman, Mrs. Sookie Northman,” I replied.

Bill’s eyes dart back up to Eric and his nostrils flared for a moment.

“I did not realize the law legalized marriage between vampires and humans,” he said with a knowing look and smiled. “I believe congratulations is in order.”

“Thank you,” I said with a forced smile.  Something didn’t feel right about this vampire.

“Truly, you must be an extraordinary woman to capture the attention of the great Eric Northman for more than just… an evening.”

My grip on Eric’s hand became a little firmer.  I didn’t like the way this vampire was treating me and from what I could feel from Eric, he didn’t either.

“Compton, you will show respect to my wife and bonded,” Eric growled through a dangerous smile. “Are we clear?”

“But of course,” Bill replied before looking back at me with a look of remorse on his face.  “I meant no disrespect Mrs.Northman.”

Even without any knowledge of the supernatural world, this was bad and not only that, but I knew he was lying.  What he didn’t want was to start out with his sheriff already crossed at him.

I gave a weak nod and smiled before glancing away from him.

“Very well, how long do you plan on staying in my area Compton,” Eric asked.

“For the foreseeable future,” Bill answered.

“I see,” Eric hummed, rubbing his thumb on my hand.  “Where?”

“In my ancestral home in Bon Temps.  My last living relative died recently and I’ve come to claim my home.”

Eric quietly regarded Bill as he continued.  “It is to my understanding that I will be the first vampire in Bon Temps.”

“You will be,” Eric said.

“You know of Bon Temps?”  Bill asked not masking his shock.

“I do.  It’s where my wife is from,” Eric answered.

Bill couldn’t stop the surprise on his face, but he quickly schooled his features.  “The Compton name is a well noted and respected family in Bon Temps.  I remember many of the old family names from when I was human.  May I ask what your maiden name was?  Perhaps I knew your ancestors.” His smile and curiosity seemed genuine but still…

I looked up at Eric not knowing what to say, “Stackhouse.” I told him and felt warm reassurance coming from Eric. Feeling his emotions was definitely going to take getting used to.

“Stackhouse,” Bill repeated. “They were my neighbors across the cemetery when I was human.  What a pleasant and unexpected surprise.”

“Indeed.  Now if you are quite done interviewing my wife, I’d like to finish.”

“Of course, of course.”  Bill replied with a tight smile and glanced at me one last time before focusing on Eric.

“What will you do for income?” Eric inquired.

“I am currently working on a project for her Majesty.  I was told that it should not be a problem.”

“What is the project?” Eric asked him.

“Confidential,” Bill replied with look of insincere remorse.

Eric took another moment to assess Mr. Compton before giving him a curt nod.

“I’ll give you a thirty-day trial period.  You are to show up once a week and put in time here as part of living in my area.  If you do not follow my rules then you will not only be punished, but you will be banished from my area.  Are we clear?”

“Yes,” Bill replied after a moment.

“Good then we’ll see you in exactly a week.  If you’ll excuse me I have some work to do in my office.  Sookie,” he said after standing up with his hand out for me to take.  Taking his offered hand, he helped me stand and we walked back to Eric’s office leaving Bill behind in the booth.

OoOoO

“It shouldn’t take me too long to do the paperwork,” Eric said.

I looked at the files and papers on his desk.  It seemed like it would take quite a while.  “Are you sure that seems like an awful lot?”

He held up a small stack of papers. “This is all I have to do tonight,” he said, but pointed at the stacks of folders and paperwork.  “That is what you normally file away.  Pam and I are not any good at putting it away. You keep the office running and organized.”

“Oh, should I try to figure it out?”

“No need tonight,” he responded.

“What should I do while I wait?”

“You can sit on the couch and look at some magazines, or if you want I can have Pam come and escort you to the bar to get a drink while you wait.  I’m sorry there’s not much for you to do.  If you want then the next time we come in we can try to figure out your filing system or you can bring a book from home,” I gave him a nod in approval.  I wanted to be able to help. “Which would you prefer to do?”

“I’m kind of thirsty.  You’re sure that it’s okay for me to go out there?” I asked him.

He looked up from his paperwork to respond, “Of course, it’s okay.  This is your business.  You’re safe here.  You never need to worry about your safety when you’re with me.”

“Then I’d like to go out to the bar and get a drink while you finish your work,” I replied.  I didn’t want to become totally dependent on Eric.  I needed to know that I would be just fine when I was away from him.

OoOoO

[ ](http://i2.wp.com/gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/bar.jpg)

Pam escorted me out of the office and to the bar.  She informed me that she wished she could sit and talk, but she needed to work the door tonight.  Someone had called in sick and they were down an employee.  I asked her if I could be of any help, but was told that if I helped Eric wouldn’t be very happy.

I sat down at the bar on the only available stool.  A drink was immediately placed in front of me by a man with long dark hair, tattoos, a vest, and fangs.  I gave him a quizzical look.

[ ](http://i0.wp.com/gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/longshadow.jpg)

“It’s what you always drink,” he informed me.

I gave him a smile and took a sip of me drink, “Thank you.”  I was surprised by the taste of my drink.  It wasn’t sweet like I thought it would be but it was still delicious.

“You’re the boss,” he replied before moving on to his next customer.

The bar was busy.  If the bartender hadn’t been a vampire I’m not sure he would have been able to keep up with all the drink orders.  Every time my drink was empty and new one took its place.  I kept quiet and sat on my bar stool and watched all the people.

I did finally notice some customers come in together that were not dressed like everyone else.  They looked like they had just come off the street since they were wearing regular clothing.  It was interesting to see all the men and women trying to get a vampire to be interested in them.  The new group of customers that I later learned were tourists would watch the vampires and every once in a while one would go up and ask for an autograph. They almost seemed scared of the vampires.

I was on my third or fourth drink and was feeling a little different than normal when the two girls next to me squealed. I turned to look at them since that was not the typical behavior I had noticed while sitting here.

“He’s here,” the girl next to me said.  She had black hair, brown eyes, with white and black makeup on with a short, tight black dress, and super high black heels.  “I can’t believe how hot he is.  I’m so excited now that he’s here.”

“I know.  It would have been a total let down if we didn’t get to see him.  Definitely not worth the cover charge.  He makes it all worth it and more,” said the second girl whose dress was even shorter.  The only difference was that she had red eyes.  I didn’t even know anyone could have red eyes.  She was a little scary.

[ ](http://i0.wp.com/gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/red-contact-lenses.jpg)

I  turned around on my stool to see who they were talking about.  To my surprise Eric was walking toward me.

[ ](http://i0.wp.com/gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/2797918-ericshootingad_season4.jpg)

I heard girl number two say, “He’s coming right over here toward us.  How do I look?”

“Hi!” I said loudly, when Eric was in front of me.  He took my drink out of my hand and placed it on the bar.  I placed my now empty hand on his bicep.

“How many drinks have you had?” he asked.

“Three or four.  I don’t really know.  The guy behind the bar kept giving me a new one every time it was empty.  He said it’s what I usually have,” I said while I rubbed my hand up and down his arm.  “Did I do something wrong?”

“You did nothing wrong,” he replied while glaring at the bartender.

The bartender quickly made his way over in front of us.

“How many drinks did you serve her?” Eric asked, but it almost sounded like a growl.

“Three.  What’s the problem?”

“What’s the problem?  Do you really think she needed three drinks in the span of thirty minutes?  She’s almost drunk.  Don’t let something like this happen again.  Are we clear?”

“Absolutely,” he replied, looking over at me with a menacing look.

“He’s even hotter when he’s mad,”  girl number one said, staring at Eric.  I hadn’t realized up until now that the man the girls were talking about was Eric.  I knew _I_ thought he was the most gorgeous man in the world, but I didn’t know others thought sotoo.

I had seen plenty of men around the bar tonight and none of the them could compare to Eric.

“My husband is hot,” I replied to the girls while running my hands up from Eric’s abs to his pecs. I looked up to see Eric with a big smirk on his face.  “Have I ever told you how hot you are?”  I asked him.

“A few times, but not lately,” he said with his smirk still in place while taking both my hands in his.  He leaned down and placed a sweet kiss on the tip of my nose. “Have I told you how beautiful you are tonight?” I shook my head no.

“My mistake.  You are very beautiful tonight,”  I could feel myself blush and a smile form upon my face. “I’m going to tell Pam that I’m done and that we are headed home.  Will you be okay for a few more minutes?”

“I’ll be fine.  Can we get me something to eat on the way home?”

“Anything you want,” he said before walking off to see Pam at the door.

I turned around to sit back down, but someone had already taken my seat.  The two girls who had previously been admiring my husband had a look of shock on their faces.

“How did he end up with you?” the girl with the red eyes asked me.

“I don’t know, but I do know that I’m a lucky girl.”

Both of the girls were nodding their heads when Eric made his way back to me.

“Are you ready?” he asked as he put his hand on the small of my back.  I nodded.  “Any idea of what you’d like to eat?”

“No, I’m sorry.  Something that isn’t a sandwich.”

“We should’ve had Ginger call an order in for us to pick up on our way home.  Do you want to pick something up or would you like to go in to eat?”

“Can we just pick something up?”  I asked him.  “Something that I used to eat.  Did we ever pick up food before?”

“All the time.  There were a lot of nights when you would call in an order and we’d pick it up on our way to work.  Then you’d eat in my office before filing the paperwork and then you’d go out and work the bar.”

While Eric called in a food order for me, I pondered on what work I could possibly do at the bar.  I was sure I’d be able to relearn how to file the paperwork, but there was no possibility of me using telepathy to help out like I used to do.  Was I even needed at Fangtasia anymore?

When Eric got back in the car with my food, he sat the bag in between my feet on the floorboard before taking one of my hands in his.

“What have you been thinking so hard about?”

“If I’m even needed at Fangtasia anymore.  I can’t use my telepathy and I don’t know how to file the paperwork. I’m-”

“You’re needed. I need you there.  It would be intolerable without you. We’ll figure something out if you feel like you want more to do,  but you’re always needed there.”

“Thank you, I’m feeling kind of lost as to what I’m suppose to do.  Everything and everyone is new,” I said looking over at him.

OoOoO

  
[ ](http://i0.wp.com/gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/02/open-plan-bedroom-bathroom.jpg)

Master Bedroom / Bathroom

I had just laid down next to Eric after getting ready for bed when he turned on his side to look at me. He ran his fingertips along my arm, causing me to close my eyes.

“Thank you for being so patient with me.  I know none of this can be easy for you,” he nodded his head.  “You’ve been so nice and sweet,” I said as I rubbed my hand up and down his arm.  “I didn’t know those girls at the bar were talking about you until I saw you coming toward me.  I should have known though,” I said with a smile as I rose up onto my knees beside him.  “I may not be able to remember all the men I’ve seen throughout my life, but I know out of all the men I’ve seen since I woke up from my accident that you are the most gorgeous man I’ve ever seen.”

I ran my hands from the deep ‘V’ that escaped from his sleep pants along Eric’s washboard abs slowly up to his pecs. I circledhis nipples with my fingertips. Eric sat up pulling my body against his. I could feel my nipples harden against the cotton of my tank top as they pressed against Eric’s bare chest.

[ ](http://i0.wp.com/gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/02/ericnorthmantruebloodhot1.jpg)

As I traced my fingers along his eyebrows, cheekbones, and along his jaw, Eric’s eyes closed and he leaned into my touch.  My eyes scanned all the features of his face.  From the tiny lines on his forehead to the light stubble around his mouth.

I ran a finger along his bottom lip causing his eyes to spring open and stare back at me.  I watched as Eric’s eyes slowly looked upon my parted lips.

“Sookie…” he said before I brought our lips together.  At first it was soft.  Our lips and our hands upon each other.  But all too soon I was breathless as Eric pulled away to let me breathe.  He gently laid me down on our bed before plopping himself down on his side of the bed and throwing one of his arms over his eyes.

I was still trying to catch my breath when I heard Eric lightly chuckle.

“What?”  I asked breathlessly.

“I don’t think I’ve had to use as much self control in all my thousand years as I am right now.  You test my willpower, my dear Sookie,” he said with a groan.

I could feel his lust for me, but I could also feel him trying to regain control of his self.  After a few minutes, I scooted my body closer to Eric’s.  When my hand touched the arm he had draped over his eyes, he removed it and turned his head to look at me.

“I’m sorry.”

“You have nothing to be sorry for,” he said.  Eric took my hand and kissed the back of it.  “Come here,” he said as he pulled my hand, bringing me closer to him.  He didn’t stop until my body was flush against his and I laid my head on his shoulder.

I wrapped my arm around his chest while Eric stroked my hair.  While I was getting sleepier by the minute, my guilt over making Eric almost lose control was slipping away.

“You do not need to feel guilty, min älskade,” he said before lightly grasping my chin and tilting my head back.  Once my head was tilted back enough for our eyes to lock onto each others, he placed three soft kisses on my lips.  He wrapped his arms around me and squeezed me tight.   “I only want to wait until you are ready and with the alcohol in your system tonight it has lowered your inhibitions.  I would hate for you to regret it in the morning.”

“I wouldn’t regret it, but you’re right that I’m probably not ready.  Can we lay like this until I fall asleep?”

“Of course, you don’t need to ask.  You can do whatever you’re comfortable with,” he said and then resumed stroking my hair and putting me to sleep.

“Good night, Eric,” I said as I snuggled in closer to him.  If I could I think I would have crawled inside of him.  For every inch that I snuggled closer, I could feel the intensity of Eric’s happiness and love expand throughout my body.

“Good night, min älskade. Jag älskar dig,” he said before burying his face into my hair and finally placed a kiss.


	6. Bound

I had just finished cleaning up the kitchen when Eric walked in with a curious look on his face.  I looked up from wiping down the counter and I knew I had a big smile on my face.

“You cooked?” he asked.

“I did.  I found my Gran’s cookbook and I made biscuits and ate them with honey and butter.  It may have taken me ten times longer than it should have, trying to find the ingredients and figuring it all out but I did it.”

Eric had a big smile on his face, “I’m happy for you.  Are you done in here?”

“I am.  What’s going on?” I asked him as I followed Eric into the living room. I could feel that he was determined to tell or talk to me about something.

  
[ ](http://i1.wp.com/gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/02/loft-apartment-by-2b-group1.jpg)

Living Room

I sat quietly as I watched Eric make us a fire.  I could tell that he had done this hundreds if not thousands of times before.  It seemed to settle him.  Each move relaxing him a little more.  Once he was done, he came and sat beside me on the couch.  He angled his body toward mine and reached out to hold my hand.

“Are you ready to tell me what’s wrong?” I asked him.  The more relaxed Eric became while making the fire, the more stressed I became.

“Nothing’s wrong,” he said with a shy smile.  “I wanted to talk about this last night when we got home, but I wanted you to have a clear head when we discussed it.”

“I’m clear headed now so what do you want to discuss?”  I asked wondering what he could possibly want to talk about that would make him nervous.

“About some of the things that Alcide mentioned last night and something we learned about when we found out that you’re part fairy.”

“We don’t need to discuss anything that Alcide said.  I don’t care about those things.”

“You may not care about them right now, but you may in the future,” he said before using the hand that wasn’t holding mine and ran it through his hair.  “When we met your great-grandfather, after your cousin died a little over a year ago, we found out that you’re part fairy and that when our bond became permanent our lives became connected to one another.”

“What does that mean?” I asked looking from his face down to our joined hands.

“It means that our lives are tied.  You will stay looking exactly like you did the day that our bond became permanent and will live for as long as I’m alive.  You may be alive for another two hundred years or two thousand.”

“What about you?”

“If you die then I’ll die as well.”

My eyes snapped up to his.  “What?  You couldn’t possibly want this.  I don’t know much right now, but I do know that I’m only human.  I could die at any time. I almost died just a few days ago,”  I said.  I sat back on the couch, turning my body toward the fireplace.  I pulled my knees to my chest, wrapped my arms around my legs, and placed my chin on top of my knees.

[ ](http://i2.wp.com/gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/ukrainian-apartment-19.jpg)

I stared off into the fire for I don’t know how long.  I had almost died and if I had then Eric would have died as well.  This was in no way fair for him.  I was stuck in a weak body that could get hurt or sick easily.

“Kära en, titta på mig (Dear one, please look at me),” Eric said.  I turned to look at him to see a worried expression on his face. “Talk to me.  Tell me what you’re thinking.”

“I’m thinking that you got the short end of the stick,” I replied.  My voice laced with apology.

“I don’t see it that way.  You can live an eternity without giving up all the things that you love about being human.”

“But I’m only human.  I’m weak. I could get sick or in another accident and die tomorrow.  You would die and I don’t want that,” I said as tears welled up in my eyes.

“All of that is a possibility or I could get staked.  We can’t live out our days worrying about if we are going to die or not.”

“I don’t want to be the cause of your death,”  I said as a tear escaped.

“And I never want to be the cause of yours,” he replied before extending his arm out to me.  “Come here,” tugging on my hand until I was sitting beside him with his arm around my shoulders and my head was laying on his chest.

“How can you not be upset by this?”

“I’ve had longer to get used to the information.  Even if I had known that our lives would be bound together by bonding I still would have done it,” he replied.  His cheek was laying on top of my head while he rubbed up and down my arm with his hand.

“With or without our lives being tied together I would meet the sun if you were to ever die.”

“Why would you meet the sun?” I asked turning to look in him the eye.  I hated the thought of Eric ever dying especially if I was the cause.

Eric sat there staring at me without blinking for a few minutes before he spoke. “Even without the bond that we share, I would not want to live forever without you in my life, but with the bond if we were not bound the way that we are, if you were to die it would leave a void where our bond resides.  It would cause me such immense pain and sadness that would continue to increase until I would finally met the sun.”

“Did I know this when we created this bond?”

“Yes,” he firmly replied.  “I hide  _nothing_  from you.”

His gaze and words were so intense that it left no question in my mind that they were anything but true.

“This is a lot to take in,” I said while I rubbed my eyes with the heels of my palms before moving back to snuggle against his side.

“I understand, Sookie, but know that you are not alone in this,” he assured me.  “I’m with you and I’ll give you anything you need or want.  I’ll answer any questions you may have.  You can come to me for any and everything.”

“What was our plan?  Were you just going to watch me age and die and then meet the sun?”

“No,” he replied. I could feel him shake his head against my own.  “Before we knew that our lives were bound together by ourbond, we had planned that I would turn you when you were thirty.”

“Why thirty? Is it because that’s how only you were when you were turned?”

I could feel the vibration of Eric laughter through his chest, “No, that had nothing to do with it.  Before your accident you were going to school to become a counselor for abused children.  You wanted to finish getting your degree and have your career started.”  I felt him kiss the top of my head before he tightened his arm around me.

“What am I going to do now?  I don’t remember anything that I learned in school. I either have today or forever to live.  I can’t sit around on my butt forever.”

“You can do whatever you want.  After you get comfortable in your life again you can go back to school.  Start over if you want.  You can continue to work with me until you decide what you want to do.  We can travel and see the world.  Whatever youwant.  I would like to take you to Sweden someday and show you my homeland.”

“I’d like that,” I said as I wrapped my arm around his torso.  I took a deep breath.  “I think for right now I want to work with you and get used to everyday life again.  I would also like to travel and see your homeland sometime soon.”

“Then that’s what we’ll do.”

I sighed against Eric.  It made him so happy that I would want to go see his homeland.   I wondered why we had never visited before.

“Can I ask you a question?”

I could feel amusement through the bond before Eric answered me. “You know you can always ask me anything.”

“I don’t want to hurt your feelings,” I said as I tried to pull away.  His arms tightened around me as if they would never let me go.

“Don’t worry about hurting my feelings.  Ask me anything you want,” he said before placing  another kiss on top of my head.

“I was thinking about how you wanted to talk about the things that Alcide mentioned yesterday.  I don’t care that you are colder than I am, or that you don’t have a pulse, you seem pretty sweet and cuddly to me,” I said with a giggle.

“Only for you, my Sookie.”

“So,” I said dragging the word out. I took a deep breath in and slowly let it out.  “Do you not want children with me?” I asked,  ducking my head down.  Unsure if I wanted the answer or not.  He said he loves me and I could feel his love for me, but why didn’t he want to have children?

I felt Eric take his own deep breath.  My body moved up and down with his before I felt his fingers lightly take my chin and tilt it up until I was looking him in the eyes.

“It has nothing to do with not wanting children with you,” he said shaking his head.  “Vampires cannot procreate.  When Alcide mentioned you having children, he meant with someone else, someone who can give you children,” he said in a dejected tone.

Feeling the sadness and mourning for what would never be, coming off Eric it broke my heart.  I rose up on my knees and wrapped my arms around his head as he rested his forehead against my collarbone. I ran my fingers through his hair trying to comfort him.  I hated knowing that I’d made him feel this way.

Eric pulled back after a few minutes scanning my face with his sad eyes.  “It’s one of the few things that I cannot give you that I regret.  If you ever want to have a child or children we can try to adopt, you can get artificially inseminated, or …” he said, but couldn’t continue.

“Or what? What else is there?”

“I told you last night that if you ever wanted to be with a human now that you no longer have any problems with your telepathy…”

I shook my head interrupting, “Stop mentioning me being with another man unless you no longer want me and want me withsomeone else.”

“I want you with no one else,” he said with a low growl. “It would be the hardest thing I’d ever have to do to let you go, but I would if you wanted me to,” he closed his eyes.  “If it would make you happy.  I know our situation is no longer what it wasbefore your accident.  I don’t want you to feel that you owe me anything.  I will help you whatever your decision.”

“Eric,” I said grabbing his face in my hands, his eyes opened.  “Right now, I don’t want a child.  I don’t even know myself, let alone have to care for a child.  If I have hundreds or maybe even thousands of years to live then yes, maybe one day I will want to have a child.  If that time comes than we will talk and decide our options then.”

I sat back down on my heels and ran my hands from his face, over his shoulders, down his arms until they reached his hands.  I brought both of his hands together in a prayer position and wrapped my hands around them as best as I could.

“I don’t plan on going anywhere.  I can honestly say that I don’t love you right now,” I stopped for a moment when Eric let his head hang down.

“I know,” he said barely above a whisper.

“But,” I said and took his chin in my hand and raised it until our eyes met.  “I do feel something for you.  You can feel that can’t you?”  He nodded his head.  “It’s been four days since I woke up from my accident and started a whole new life.  I do feel a connection with you that I can’t explain.  I trust you,  you are so sweet and caring toward me, you’re absolutely gorgeous, but I’m pretty sure that I didn’t fall in love with you the first time in only four days did I?”

“No,” he said shaking his head.

“Give me time.  Can you do that?”

“Of course I can.  I didn’t mean to pressure you, but I wanted you to know your options.”

“And now I know my options.  Right now, I choose to stay with you and I don’t plan on changing my mind.  I have an idea. Since it’s still early can you tell me about when we met?”

OoOoO

“I had put an ad in the paper for a personal assistant.  I needed someone who could work for me day or night, but working mostly days.  You have to remember that no one knew that vampires existed back then.  We knew the reveal was coming, but we didn’t know when. It was getting harder to hide our existence with all the technology that was rapidly increasing,” he explained.

“I had saw close to a hundred applicants by the time you came in looking like the sun.  You were so young and beautiful, yourlong honey colored hair trailing down your back, your golden tan, bright blue eyes, with your yellow dress and little white sandals.”

[ ](http://i2.wp.com/gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/yellow-dress.jpg)

“You were so innocent,” he smiled as he looked off, remembering our first meeting.  “I knew right away that I was going to hire you.  The fact that you smelled better than any human I’d ever encountered was an added bonus.” He looked back at me, still smiling.

“After hiring you I was always trying to come up with different things for you to do for me at night, so that we could spend more time together.  I had a feeling that you caught on within the first few nights, but you were so excited to have a good job with benefits. I even sent you out to pick me up dinner a couple of times,” he said with a sly grin on his face.

My furrowed my brows, “You had me bring people to you?”

He shook his head as he chuckled, “No, I sent you to get me human food.  I was pretending to be human back then.  I wantedto spend time with you and I could only give you so many errands to run at night.  Back before the reveal, most places didn’t have the hours that they do now to accommodate vampires.”

“Really?” I asked him giggling.

A smile lit up his face as I felt his adoration flow through our bond. “Really.  I tried every way I could to see you.”

“How did I find out you’re a vampire?”

“You had been working for me for about three weeks and you came into my office looking worried.  When I asked you what the problem was, you wanted to let me know that I had an employee who had been stealing from me.  I asked if you could prove it and that’s when you became nervous.  For a moment I thought it might have been you who had been stealing.  You sat down in the chair across from my desk and put your face in your hands and sat like that for so long that I was getting worried that you had something to do with it.  Finally you decided that you could trust me and let me in on your secret that you could read minds.”

“Had I ever told anyone about being a telepath before?”  I asked intrigued as to why I had told him such a big secret after only working for a short amount of time.

He shook his head, “Only your Gran, Jason, and a couple of friends that you’ve known since you were a little girl know.”

“What was your reaction to meeting your first telepath?”

“Not as good as I would have liked,” he replied.

“Why?  What did you do?”

“My fangs ran out as I moved in front of you, quicker than any human could ever move.  As I towered over you I demanded that you tell me if you could read my thoughts,” he said and then lowered his gaze down to your connected hands as he spoke.  “I scared you.  You were so frightened and hardly able to speak. Eventually, I backed up against my desk giving you some space to calm down.”

Regret filled our bond as we sat silently on the couch.  Eric still hadn’t looked up when I squeezed his hand a little tighter.

“Did you ever treat me like that again?” I asked.

Eric’s head whipped up instantly offended.  “Never!” he proclaimed adamantly.

“Then why wouldn’t you look at me, why did I feel your regret?” I asked quietly.

“I hate the way I treated you then, that I scared you, but I have never treated you like that since that night.”

A small smile crossed my lips before telling him to continue on with the story.

“You sat there in your chair in front of me with your eyes closed and your nose scrunched up until your eyes popped open and one the biggest smiles I’d ever seen spread across your face.  I knew before you ever told me that you couldn’t read my thoughts or you wouldn’t have been smiling.”

“Why? What were you thinking about?”

“That I was going to have to fire you and glamour you to forget all about me.  I couldn’t let you continue to work for me if you could read my mind.  I couldn’t let you know about vampires and our secrets.  You told me you couldn’t read my thoughts with such wonderment in your voice and asked what I was.  Humans don’t have fangs and can’t move that fast.  I revealed that I was a vampire, planning on glamouring you before you left for the night.”

“Then you found out I can’t be glamoured,” he nodded his head.  “What happened then?”

“I think I was in shock for the first time in my vampiric life.  I knew I should kill you.  No human was allowed to know that vampires existed, but I couldn’t do it,” he said shaking his head.  “Best decision of my undead life.”

“But why didn’t you?  What made you decide I should live?”

“You were the first human in hundreds of years, if ever that I actually wanted to spend time with.  You’re so different from the rest, the way you viewed people,  treated them because of your telepathy, but also because not only are you beautiful and smart, but you were already loyal to me.  You outed yourself because you trusted me.  You had no idea that I was a vampire and that I could either kill you, use you for your gift, or give you to my queen.  I didn’t want any of those things, and I didn’t want to lose you from my life.”


	7. Her Need

**Two weeks later – Fangtasia**

Life had been running smoothly.  I had quickly set up a routine for myself so that I could get a sense of normal in my life.  I would wake up about two hours before sunset and make myself something to eat using Gran’s cookbook. Everyday, I tried to make something new.  I was getting quicker as I learned where everything was.

A few times I would sleep in until Eric woke and he would try to help me cook whatever concoction I was going to make that day.  We were both learning since I had no memories and he had only cooked over a thousand years ago while out in battle.  Back then his form of cooking was throwing some type of animal over a fire to cook. Things were a lot different and more complex with all the ingredients used now.

I had learned the filing system that I had come up with at Fangtasia and after a few days I finally I filed away all the paperwork that had occurred since my accident.  Once that was done, filing took me very little time every night.  Before I had used my telepathy out in the bar to look for underage kids, drainers, and anyone looking to make trouble.  Since I could no longer use my telepathy I needed something else to do while we were there. I didn’t want to just sit around out at the bar.

Eric came up with the idea of putting me in charge of all the human employees.  I would do their schedules, payroll, serve as their contact for problems, oversee deliveries and inventory. Anything that I found out that both Eric and Pam hated to do. I was happy to take some of their burden off them and give myself a sense of purpose.  I was a little nervous at first to do the payroll, but Eric sat down with me and explained what I needed to do.  I was amazed that as he explained how to enter their hours and fill out the forms on the computer that it all came naturally to me.  It put a big smile on my face.  I felt Eric’s pride in me and when I looked up his smile matched my own.

[ ](http://i2.wp.com/gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/bar.jpg)

I was sitting at the bar after I had stopped two of our waitresses from getting into a fight over stealing tips.  All of our employees were happier having to deal with their issues with me than with Pam.  I learned that Eric didn’t have a lot to do with the everyday things with employees.  Only giving them their paychecks.  Pam on the other hand had been in charge and her dislike for humans had caused most of the waitresses to be scared of her.  The only reason they continued to work there was for the money.  They couldn’t get that type of pay anywhere else being a waitress.

Every vampire that lived in Eric’s area has to come to Fangtasia once a week to be on display for the human clientele.  It wouldn’t be a vampire bar if there were no vampires for the tourists and fangbangers to see.   Tonight was Bill Compton’s night.  To say I was less than enthused would be an understatement.

Last week when he came in I had a creepy feeling that he was watching me, but every time I looked his way he was looking in the other direction.  Not that, that means much.  I live with a vampire. I know how fast they can move and if he didn’t want me to see him looking at me, he could easily look away before I had a chance to catch him.

He didn’t know that we were onto him.  We knew that he was most likely here because he somehow had heard of me.  We were not going to let on that we knew why he was here, but Eric was being very cautious and every vampire in the area except for Bill knew to that I was not to leave Fangtasia with anyone but Eric or Pam.

Longshadow, our bartender, sat a drink in front of me just as Bill Compton sat down on the barstool next to me.  I took a lingering sip from my drink, Ginger Ale, to give me a little more time before I had to acknowledge his presence.  I wanted to roll my eyes as I watched from the corner of my eye, as Bill tried to get into my line of sight.  I wondered if he’d try anything tonight.

“Sookeh,” I heard Bill say as he leaned forward grabbing the bottle of True Blood Longshadow placed in front of him.  He couldn’t even say my name right.  His southern gentleman act wasn’t fooling anyone. I gave him a reproachful look before he corrected himself.  “Mrs. Northman.”

I gave him a slight nod in acknowledgement before turning around to watch Eric walk out into the bar from his office.  He gave me a smile and an eyebrow raise outwardly, but through our bond he was sending me his irritation at seeing Bill sitting beside me and caution before moving to his  throne that was on stage.  It was his turn to sit on the throne and act indifferent toward the vermin as Pam called them.  I could feel how hard it was for him to sit there and not watch over me and see what Bill was up to.

[ ](http://i2.wp.com/gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/425-tb-skarsgard-lc-061410.jpg)

“How are you this fine night, Mrs. Northman?”  Bill asked leaning forward once again.

“I’m fine.  Thank you, and yourself?”

“I’d be better if I didn’t have to spend my time here,” he said looking around the room.  “I don’t know how you can stand having to spend so much time here with these humans grazing about and trying to get your husband’s attention,” he said with a look of disgust on his face.

I turned around on my stool and took in the room before I replied.  “It’s not really as bad as you’re making it out to be.  It is known that my husband has no interest and he is left alone.  We don’t spend that much time here though,”  I said as I shrugged my shoulders.

“Where do you spend most of your time?” He leaned forward as he asked his question.

I kept finding it odd that he continually leaned forward as if he was trying to look at my face.  With any other person I would have been looking at them as I spoke to them, but I didn’t want to encourage Bill. Especially since we knew he was probably here to take me to his queen.

It then occurred to me that the reason he was leaning forward was so that I would look at him.  Was he going to try and glamour me?  Eric had warned me about how a vampire would glamour a human by catching their gaze.  Once their eyes met there was nothing the human could do to get out of it.

I turned my body to finally look at him.  Knowing that I couldn’t be glamoured.  Eric had Pam try since she was the only vampire he trusted to not take advantage of me if she succeeded.  He was relieved to find out I still couldn’t be glamoured.

“Out to dinner, movies,” I shrugged again.  “Mostly we’re at home.”

“And where is that?” he asked in a hush tone.  I was assuming he asked quietly hoping that no other vampire would be able to hear him.  Was he trying to glamour the whereabouts of our home?

“My house?” I asked.  His only response was a nod.  “Here in Shreveport.”

His eyes narrowed only a slight amount at my response.

“How long has it been since you’ve lived in Bon Temps?”

I thought about it for a minute.  I wasn’t really sure how long it had been.  I had been married for four years, but I knew that we had lived together before we had gotten married.  I’d have to ask Eric about it. A small smile spread across my face. I loved listening to Eric as he told me stories about us or from his long life.

“Over four years.”

“Do you make it out that way very often to visit your friends?”

Why was he asking me all these questions?  I had been feeling like a normal person with my routine and working, but hearing him ask questions that I had no answers to made me realize that it was going to take a long time before I could answer all thequestions that would be asked of me.

But he shouldn’t have been asking me these questions.  He didn’t know me or Eric and I remembered Eric telling me how vampires would act toward me.  They treated me with respect because I was married and bonded to their sheriff and I treated them based on who they are as a person not because they were a vampire.

I didn’t like him talking to me at all, let alone asking me all these questions.

I watched as he turned his head and watched a beautiful woman with long dark brown hair, and big brown eyes. Her skin was a shade that I hadn’t seen on anyone around here before (in all of my three weeks of memories).  She wore a tight black dress and sky-high heels.

I turned myself to watch as she moved across the dance floor and made her way right in front of Eric.  He slowly turned his head and looked up at her with both of his eyebrows raised.  I saw his mouth move a couple of times, but I couldn’t make out what he was saying.

I continued to watch as she tried unsuccessfully to place her hand on his arm or leg, but Eric wasn’t having any of it.  Finally he pointed over toward me.  When her head turned to see who he was pointing out, he gave a smile and motioned for me to joinhim.

[ ](http://i2.wp.com/gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/penelope-la.jpeg)

“Excuse me,” I said to Bill as I got off my stool and made my way over to Eric and the beautiful woman.  When I got close enough, Eric held out his hand for me to take.  He pulled me to him and wrapped his arm around my waist.

“Sookie,” he said as he looked at me.  “I was just talking about you to this lady here. What’s your name?” he asked looking back at her.

“Luciana,” she purred out.  Once again trying to make her way closer to him, but Eric used his arm that was around my waist to pull me onto his lap, putting a barrier between himself and her.

“As I was saying, Luciana, this beautiful woman who’s sitting on my lap is my wife,” he said with a pointed look.  “I do not partake in others.  You don’t have to leave the premises, but you do have to leave me alone.”

We watched her walk over to the bar and sit down on the stool that I had just vacated. Instantly her and Bill started to talk.  I thought that was a little odd, but I was glad he was talking to her instead of me.

Eric turned my body so that I was sitting sideways on his lap, wrapped his arms around my waist, nuzzled into my neck, and tickled me with his fangs. Making me laugh and squirm on his lap.

Keeping his face in my neck he whispered, “What was Bill saying to you?  He was speaking just low enough that I couldn’t hear him over the music.”

I turned a little more in his lap so that I could whisper in his ear where hopefully no vampire could hear.

“First he was talking about how horrible it must be to have to spend a lot of time here.  When I told him that we really aren’t here much, he asked what we do when we are not here.  I told him that we go out to dinner, the movies, or we’re at home.  Then he asked where we live,” I pulled back to look him in the eye after telling him.

“I only said Shreveport.”  I moved back to his ear and proceeded to tell him everything.  “He had just asked how often I go to Bon Temps to visit my friends when that woman started walking up to you.”

“You did well just as I knew you would,” he said and placed a kiss behind my ear.

“Thank you.  Did you notice that she literally walked in and came straight toward you?”

“No, but now that you mention it, it does seem strange.”

“What did she say to you?” I asked him.

“That she heard that I liked beautiful woman and I do.  I’m married to the most beautiful woman in the world,” he said with a fanged grin.

I bit into my lip to contain the large smile threatening to take over.

“Anything else?” I asked.

He shrugged.  “She insinuated that it’s common for me to feed and fuck a new woman every night.  I informed her that shemust be mistaken.  She certainly was persistent.  I haven’t had to deal with a woman like that since right after the great reveal.  It didn’t take them long to know that I was not going to have anything to do with them.”

“Isn’t it odd that she went and sat down next to Bill and they started talking.”  I took a quick look over at them and their heads were close together and it looked as if they were whispering to each other.

“Not really.  Some humans come in here to be with a vampire.  Any vampire.  Why she chose Bill is questionable when there are other vampires here that are much more attractive and less annoying.”

We both chuckled at this.  Bill was definitely not attractive with his plain clothes, long sideburns, and ridiculous accent.

I sat on Eric’s lap while we talked about nothing important.  Work, dinner, if I wanted to get a car to replace my totaled one. He was happy that I wasn’t ready yet to be out on my own.  I didn’t have anywhere to go that he couldn’t take me.

The only time I’d been out without him was when Pam had taken me shopping.  She was hoping that with my amnesia I wouldn’t remember what horrible fashion sense I had before. Unfortunately for her, it was still the same.  I appreciated her taking me shopping and trying to become my friend again.  I found out that she definitely acted differently outside of Fangtasia.  Eric was right, she did like her pink. Everything she bought or tried to get me to try on was pink.

[ ](http://i1.wp.com/gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/pam-in-pink.jpg)

We watched as Bill and Luciana moved across the bar to a table for more privacy.  They kept their heads together whispering until they decided to leave.  Eric found it odd that they were talking quietly enough so that he couldn’t hear what they were saying most of the time.

Every once in a while he would nuzzle my neck and whisper the little things that he heard in my ear while grazing his lips seductively along it and causing an ache I was now becoming familiar with.

From the few times that Bill had raised his voice enough for Eric to hear, it seemed that Bill was upset that Luciana wasn’tsuccessful in trying to seduce Eric.  He wanted her to do it right in front of me so that I would lose trust in him and think he was cheating on me.

This made Eric furious that anyone would try to hurt me by making me think he’d be with another woman.  He could barelykeep himself under control so that he didn’t fly across the room and rip Bill’s head from his shoulders.

When Bill and Luciana stood and walked out the front door of Fangtasia, Eric quickly stood as well.  He swiftly sent a text to Pam letting her know that we were leaving for the night.  I was ushered out the front door and we stopped in the parking lot as Eric tried to find where Bill had gone.  Eric didn’t want Bill to end up killing the woman in his area since she hadn’t succeeded in her mission to seduce him.

He caught sight of Bill and pointed in the direction that he was in. Luckily he had escorted Luciana to her car and was walking in the direction to his car.  I watched as she pulled out of her parking space and out of the parking lot.  I had just turned my head to see if Bill was going to follow in the same direction, when I was suddenly engulfed in Eric’s arms.  There were loud pops somewhere behind us.  Eric’s body roughly jerked forward a few times and chaos broke out around us.

Humans were screaming as the sound of car tires screeched throughout the parking lot.  My heart was racing and my palms were sweaty.

What was going on?

I wanted to panic, but I knew I was safe in Eric’s arms.  He tightened the hold he had on me once more before pulling away.  His hands had a slight, almost unnoticeable tremble as he quickly examined my body for something.  Was I hurt?

“Eric, what’s wrong?  What happened?” I asked confused.

“You- You’re okay,” he replied with a relieved whisper before he slumped to the ground.

“Eric!” I cried out.

Instantly Pam was by our sides.  She went around to Eric’s back and looked up at me. It was in this moment that I saw Pam as a vampire.  A real vampire.  Gone was the snarky, playful Pam and in her place was the dangerous warrior who demanded retribution in blood.

I noticed a few other vampires that we in the bar outside assessing the situation.  Pam glared at them before yelling at them.

“Go!” she commanded.  “Bring me the one’s responsible for this and put them in the basement until I return.”

They took off down the street at vamp speed as Pam pulled Eric up by his arm before placing it around her shoulders, guiding him around the back and to her car.  Eric legs were barely moving to help Pam get him to the her car.

  
[ ](http://i0.wp.com/gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/02/pams-car.jpg)

Pam’s Car

I tried to rush to her car so that I could get the door open for her, but by the time I got there she already had the door open, Eric leaning against the window in the backseat, she was sitting in the driver’s seat with the car already running, and had left the door open for me.

I quickly crawled in and pulled the door closed behind me.  Pam sped off, leaving me clutching the door and frantically trying to put my seatbelt on.

“Pam,” Eric weakly said.  I looked over at him and saw that he was reaching out to me.  I grasped his hand and held onto it for dear life.

“Master.”

“Sookie.”

“I’m right here,” I replied, squeezing his hand a little tighter.  I felt his fingers move a slight amount.

“Pam.  Sookie,” he said.

“Eric, she’s fine. She’s sitting right next to you,” Pam replied and I could detect a small amount of worry in her voice.

“Drive. Slow- er,” he croaked.

“Are you kidding me?   I’m not slowing down,” Pam said exasperated.  I could see her looking into the rearview mirror and glaring.

“I’m fine, Eric.  Really.  Is there anything I can do to help you?” I asked scooting closer to him.

“You can let him out of his ridiculous vow to not drink blood from anyone but you,” she stated while looking back at me through the mirror.

I sat there for a moment shocked.  I wasn’t keeping Eric to any vow.  I didn’t say anything until we had pulled into the underground garage and were in the elevator headed up to the loft.

“If Eric wants out, if it will help him in any way then … I’m not holding him to anything Pam.”

When the elevator door opened Pam picked Eric up bridal style as if he only weighed a few pounds.  If it wouldn’t have been such a dire situation it would have been comical seeing her carry his large body under her tiny frame.  She started to take him to the couch in the great room until Eric uttered for the bedroom.

Once she laid him on the bed, I climbed on with him, holding his hand and stroking his hair.

“I’m going to call Clancy to bring you a couple of glamoured donors,” she said to Eric all the while looking at me.  I looked at herand shrugged.

“You… will… not,” he grounded out, his brows furrowed and his eyes closed.  “Bring me True Blood.”

“You know as well as I do that drinking that synthetic shit won’t heal you.  You’ve got silver bullets in you and your body will never expel them on synthetic alone.  You need a donor.  Tell him, Sookie.”

“Eric,” I said while my hand cupped his cheek.  “If you need a donor then please do what you have to, to heal.”

“Even she can see you need one.  I’m calling.”

“No!” he exclaimed using more energy than he should have.  “I command you to leave now and go interrogate the shooters.  You will not get me any donors.”

Pam worriedly looked between Eric and I before putting her full gaze upon me before she spoke.  “You will take care of him.” She glanced back down at him and her toned lightened slightly, “Call me if you need anything.”  I nodded only once before she took off and I heard the front door slam downstairs.

Up until now I hadn’t noticed that I couldn’t feel Eric.  He hadn’t shut our bond down once since the night I asked him to let me feel him.  I had become accustomed to feeling him inside of me all the time and to not be able to sense any emotion of his hadme worried and lost.  I felt alone.  Like a piece of me was missing and I wanted it back.

I wanted Eric back.

“Eric,” I called to him.  As his eyes slowly blinked open, I leaned over him and placed a hand on his cheek.

[ ](http://i2.wp.com/gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/02/eric-waking-up.gif)

“Why can’t I feel you in the bond?”

“Pain,” he said with furrowed brows.

“You’re blocking it because you’re in pain?”  I asked.  His only response was to nod his head slightly before closing his eyes once again.

“Pam said you need human blood to heal.  Eric, please!  I hate seeing you like this.  I hate not being able to feel you.  You have to feed off someone,” I said desperately.  “Let me call Pam,” I pleaded with him.

“No,” he said forcefully.  For only a second I could feel searing hot pain on different areas of my back.  Was that what Eric was feeling?  What he’s blocking me from?

“You have to do something!  I can’t let you continue on this way. I want you to drink from me.  Will you heal if you do?”

“I cannot, Sookie,” was his only reply.

“Why?  I want to help.  I’m not scared.  Please let me do this for you!”  I was desperate for him to heal and be back to his normal self.  I was used to seeing him happy, joking with me, and strong.

Not like this.

“I cannot risk hurting you, taking too much.  It may take me longer to heal like this, but  if I did anything to inflict pain upon you when I could have prevented it, I could never forgive myself.  Bring me some Royalty, it will help.”

“But not enough, right?”

“Enough to help with the healing.  You are helping me by being here with me.  I’ll drink the Royalty and start to heal more.”

I ran downstairs, flung the refrigerator door open, and quickly grabbed two bottles of Royalty. After heating them up in the microwave, I rushed back upstairs and collapsed on the bed next to Eric. I was panting from running up and down the stairs asI unscrewed the top to one of the bottles.  How was Eric going to drink this laying down?

“Eric?  How are you going to drink this laying down?” I asked him, sitting up beside him.

“I can’t drown.  Place it at my mouth and pour.  I’ll be fine.  You’ll see.”

After downing both bottles, Eric still didn’t seem any better, he was still paler than usual and he was still blocking me.  I had enough of him being stubborn.  I understood that he didn’t want to hurt me, but he was hurting himself more by not taking any blood.

“You don’t look any better after those two bottles.  You either need to take my blood or someone else’s.   What’s it going to be?”

“I’m not taking anyone else’s blood.  You may not remember my vow to you, but I promised you this.  I am a man of my word.”

“Then take from me,” I said as I gripped his hand tighter.  He opened his eyes, his blue-green orbs trying to penetrate my own.  Begging me to give up.  “I’m going to ask you a question and I want you to be honest with me.  Will you do that?”  He barely moved his head in affirmation.

“Always.”

“Why is it taking you so long to heal?  I thought vampires healed quickly.”

“Silver,” he answered.  His eyebrows furrowed slightly.

“Would you heal faster or better if you had my blood?”

I watched as his eyes scanned along my face, but once they reached my eyes they stopped.  I already knew the answer by his reaction. He wouldn’t lie to me, but he didn’t want to tell me that what he really needed was real blood.  My blood.

“Yes.”

“Thank you, I know that you didn’t want to tell me,” I said with a small smile.  “Now,” I gave him a fixed look.  “You are going to take my blood.”

“No,” he growled out.

“I trust that you won’t hurt me.  It’s been almost an hour and you can only lie here.  If you won’t drink the blood from a donor then your only other option is me.  What’s it going to be?”

“I can’t risk hurting you or worse.”

I wasn’t going to let him lie in our bed in pain if there was anything I could do about it.  If the pain I felt earlier was any indication of what he was feeling, I don’t know how he could deny me.

I knew he wasn’t going to give in and take my blood so I reached over his body to open the compartment on the side of the bed.  I had looked in there after we had gotten back from New Orleans and I was surprised to find a dagger in there.  From what Eric told me, we used it for our blood exchanges to form our bond.  When I asked him why it wasn’t put away somewhere else, I learned that I used it for our continual exchanges so that I didn’t have to bite him and could take blood from anywhere I wanted.

[ ](http://i0.wp.com/gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/dagger.jpg)

I was going to use it now.  If I could use it to cut my husband for his blood then I would use it to cut myself and make him drink from me.  I sat back down beside Eric and swiftly cut my wrist open.

Eric’s eyes had closed once again, but when the pain of my cut or the smell of my blood registered within him, I watched as they opened and his nostrils flared.  I pushed my wrist to his mouth, but he only stared at me.

“This is what you need.  Please take it.  I know you would do the same for me.”

“You can’t drain me dry or overpower me.  Do you realize the danger you’re putting yourself in?” he replied as he continued tostare at me.

“I trust that you’ll stop,” I replied, shoving my wrist against his lips.  He gave me one final look before he grasped my arm gently with both of his hands and pulled it against his mouth.

I ran my free hand through his hair.  At first he sucked hungrily from the wound, but after only a minute he slowed down, taking his time. Once he slowed down, he sat up on the bed with little effort, pulling me to his side.  I laid my head down on his shoulder, as his free hand rubbed up and down my back.

I felt his tongue lick the wound closed before he pulled away and rested his forehead against mine.  “Never do that again,” he said sharply, causing my eyes to widen and lock onto his.  Eric had never talked to me in that way.  I had seen him run through a gamut of emotions while we were out and about or at Fangtasia, but I had never been on this side of him being unhappy.  It wasn’t something that I wanted to happen too often or ever again for that matter.

His tone and eyes softened, “I was only worried about your wellbeing.”

“That’s the problem.  You were only worried about  _my_  wellbeing,  I was worried about yours.  I knew that you wouldn’t hurt me and you proved it.  You were gentle and even comforted me. I wanted to take care of you.  I still do.”

“You don’t need to take care of me.  I’m healing.  By the time I rise tomorrow night, I’ll be as good as new.”

“I may not  _need_  to take care of you, but I want to.  Let me, please,” I said looking up at him, imploring him to see my side of this.  “It’s my job as your wife.”  He nodded his head, giving into me.  Putting a smile on my face. “Are you in anymore pain?”

“Only a small amount now.  The last of the bullets are making their way out of my body.  Once the silver is out, my body only has to heal the damage that’s left, but there will be no pain while I heal.”

“Will you open the bond after they are expelled?”  I asked.  Wanting it back as soon as possible.

He gave me one of his small, crooked smiles before he bowed his head back down to mine.  We sat in silence for a fewminutes. Waiting.  Slowly I started to feel the warm feelings, that I now knew was Eric’s love for me, filling the empty spot in my chest that had been vacant while he shut down his side of the bond.

I could feel that he wasn’t up to full strength, but I wasn’t going to mention it to him.  I had a feeling that he didn’t like me seeing him weak like this. He liked being the caregiver, not the other way around.  It was getting late and I wanted us to be able to relax for the rest of the night.

“How about I give you a bath and maybe we can watch a movie in bed afterwards?”

He chuckled at me, “I’m a thousand-year old vampire, Sookie.  I am perfectly capable of bathing myself.”

“I know you are, but I want to do this.  Will you let me or do you not want me to see you like that?”

“Like what?  Naked?” he asked.

“Yes, naked or weakened.”

“You are the only one that I would ever let see me in such a weakened state and take care of me. If it will make you happy to care for me in such a way than how can I say no.”

  
[ ](http://i0.wp.com/gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/02/open-plan-bedroom-bathroom.jpg)

Master Bedroom / Bathroom

I pulled away from him and hopped off the bed.  “Stay there,” I called back to him as I went around the bed to walk along the smooth rock underneath my feet and started the water.  Once it was the right temperature, I looked back into the bedroom to see Eric.

He was right where I left him. With my back straight and my shoulders squared, I walked over to him and knelt at his feet. It took me a moment to work the knots out of the laces of his boots, but eventually I took off his boot and socks and stood between his legs.

The palms of my hands began to sweat and I could feel the blush start to warm my cheeks as I reached for the hem of his shirt. I lifted the soft fabric up and over his head and tossed it near the trash can.

Eric watched my every move and though his face remained impassive, I could see the light in his eyes and feel his pleasure through the bond.

With a deep breath I took a step back and held out my hand to him. Eric took it and with great effort, I helped him stand up.

“Are you okay?” I asked, eyeing him carefully.

“I am,” he replied with a nod.

“Okay, good,” I breathed out. My hands fumbled with the buckle of his belt. It was hard to focus on what was in my hands when all I could see were beautiful strong lines, dips and curves of his chest and abdomen.

Thankfully, the buckle flicked opened and with slow and steady hands, I unbuttoned his jeans and pulled the zipper down. With a slight nudge of his jeans resting on his hips, the denim fell onto the hardwood.

A gasp ripped through my lips and I whipped my head to the side. There were two things that I’d just learned about my husband. The first was that my husband doesn’t wear underwear. Secondly, he was beautiful everywhere. I mean  _everywhere_.

Focus Sookie, focus. Now is not the time ogle your injured husband’s perfectly, sculpted…

Stop it!

With a new determination and focus, I looked up and stared at his neck, too embarrassed to look in him the eye.

Eric placed a firm hand on my shoulder and gracefully stepped out of his jeans and with slow calculated steps, I helped Eric walk over to the bathroom.

We stepped into the bathroom and stopped in front of the tub.

“Sookie,” Eric whispered. I gathered my courage and when I finally looked up, I’m greeted with a wink.

This was going to be an interesting bath.


	8. His Need

[ ](http://i1.wp.com/gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/03/04-sliping2.jpg)

I watched as Eric stepped into the bathtub and although I knew that he had been shot, who knew how many times to save my life, this was the first I time I saw the blood all over his back and it scared me half to death.

I knelt down, on a towel that I had place on the ground, beside the tub with a washcloth in my hands.

“Are you not getting in to join me?” Eric asked.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.  The point is for me to take care of you.  What good is there to come from me being in there,” I said pointing into the water, “with you?”

“If you want to take care of me then get in this tub with me.  I won’t try anything untoward,” he said earnestly.

I studied him for a moment, weighing both the pros and cons silently in my mind.  My need to care for him was an overwhelming presence that I couldn’t shake, but was it necessary to be in the tub with him to do so?

There was no denying that the attraction I had for him was staggering and I knew that he was my husband, but was I ready for such intimacy?  Did I want to be ready?

“Sookie,” Eric softly called out to me, pulling me from my thoughts.  “You and I are safe and thanks to you, I will heal, but I need you close.  I need the comfort that only you can bring me.”

I opened my mouth to speak, but Eric stopped me with a raised hand.

“This,” he said with his hand gesturing to the water, “has nothing to do with sex.  And everything to do with being cared for and close to you.  To my wife.”  He paused and his blue eyes begged for my understanding.

“This is just a bath.  Nothing more.  Nothing less,” he said.  I felt the truth and honesty of his words through our bond and it felt like a weight had been lifted from my chest.

With my decision made, I gave him a slight nod and methodically began to undress.  Thankfully, Eric didn’t watch me, insteadhe slid forward in the bathtub giving me plenty of room to slip in behind him.

“Thank you, Sookie,” Eric whispered while rubbing my feet that were resting beside his long, muscular legs.

I responded with a soft lingering kiss on his shoulder then I began to meticulously rinse and wash his back, shoulders, arms, and neck.

“Lean back,” I said as I reached for the sprayer to wet and wash his hair.  He was humming as my fingers massaged the shampoo into his hair.

“I’ve never heard you hum before,” I said as I ran my fingers through his wet hair.  “What are you humming?”

“A song that my mother used to sing to my baby sister.  I no longer remember the words, only the melody.”

“It’s very beautiful.”  He nodded his head in agreement as I scraped my fingernails along his scalp causing him to momentarily cease his humming and moan.

“You were the first to wash my hair in over a thousand years. The last who had washed it was my mother when I was a small child, no more than three winters old,” he said wistfully.

“Does it bother you for me to wash your hair?” I asked.  I didn’t want to do anything that made him sad.

He turned his head to look over his shoulder while I continued my ministrations on his scalp.  “I very much like it when you wash my hair,” he said as his gaze trailed down from my face and stopped for a long moment on my breasts before he continued down until it hit what was under the water. I felt lust spike through our bond. “Normally I wash your hair when we share a bath.”

“Do we often share baths?” I asked him as I brought the sprayer back down to rinse his hair. “Lean back a little.”

He gave me a slight nod before he leaned and tilted his head back letting the water wash away all the shampoo.  Once all the suds were out I leaned my back against the back of the tub, stretching out a little more.

“Lay back,” I said.  “Just don’t smash me.”

Eric leaned back slowly as if to make sure he wouldn’t squash me.  When he was finally all the way back, he placed the backof his head against my shoulder and closed his eyes.

“Are you okay?” he asked me.

“I’m fine.  Shouldn’t I be the one to ask you that?”  I asked as I wrapped my arms around his shoulders as best as I could.

“Perfect.  I’m lying in the arms of my beautiful wife.  What more could a vampire want?” he replied, but I could feel his longing for something more between us.  It caused my heart to feel heavy every time I saw and felt his longing for his lost wife.

For me.

I rubbed my hands up and down his arms a couple of times before I placed a kiss on his shoulder.  “Can you tell me about the first time we took a bath together?”

“Of course,” he hummed. “It was the night that we first made love. You had given me the gift of your maidenhead.  A very precious gift from you.  To know that I was your first, that you trusted and cared for me, a vampire, was not something I was used to.”

“Why not?” I asked.

“I never had sex and the human knew that I was a vampire.  I would always glamour them to think that I was human, that my skin wasn’t cold, and that I didn’t bite them.”

“Do you always bite during sex?”

“Before I met you I did, but with you everything has been different.  You’ve known about what I was almost from the moment we met and you accepted me without any reservations.”

“Tell me about our first time.”

Eric turned his head so that he could look at me.  “Do you want the play by-play?”

“No!” I yelped.  I smacked him in the chest, which caused water to splash him in the face.  “No, play by-play.”

“Are you sure?” he smirked at me while wiggling his eyebrows.

I giggled at him and wrapped my arms around his shoulders once again.  “I’m sure.  Nothing dirty.”

“Okay,” he said, drawing out the word.  “Hmmm.  So I guess you don’t want to see the video?” he asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Video!?” I shrieked, putting my face in my hands.  Mortified.

“Sookie,” Eric said with a teasing smile as he pried my hands away from my face.  “There’s no video.  I promise you.”

He turned back around and leaned against me once again to continue with his story of us.

“We had been dating for almost three months.   I took you out to dinner and a movie.  You had never enjoyed going to the movies with your telepathy, but you had found out that being in contact with a vampire somehow helped block out everyone’s thoughts.”

“What movie did we go see?”

“Zombieland.”

Zombieland?  “Are zombie’s real?” I asked scrunching up my nose.

“Not that I know of,” he said while shaking his head.  “I’ve never encountered one in my thousand years, but I’d also never knew a telepath before I meet you.”

“Are you disappointed that my telepathy is gone?”

“Absolutely not.  I was always worried that someone would find out and try to take you away from me.  You are in less danger without it and it in no way affects my feelings for you.” He reached up and took my hand in his before placing a soft kiss on the back of it.

The water was starting to get cold and my body shivered causing my nipples to rub against Eric’s back.

“I think it’s time for us to get out of the bath. You’re cold and if your delectable breasts graze my back much more than we may be reenacting the first time we made love instead of talking about it.”

Once we were dressed in our pajamas, me in a light blue long flowing night-gown and Eric in a pair of black silk sleep pants, we laid in bed facing each other only inches apart.  I pulled the blankets up till they were just under our chins.

“You know I don’t get cold don’t you?” he asked with a smirk.

“I know, but it’s comforting and feels nice.  Humor me.”

He smiled at me and gave me a nod.  “Should I continue about our first bath and lovemaking?”

I blushed, but nodded for him to continue.

“After the movie, I brought you to one of my safe houses.  I showed you around the house with my bedroom being the last room on the tour.”  He wiggled his eyebrows up and down, causing me to giggle at him.

“Was I nervous?”

“You were, but that’s understandable.  I did not fault you for being nervous.  I was perfectly fine with waiting or doing otherthings, but you were ready.  I did my best to prepare you and to ease your pain.  We…”

“I don’t need the details,”  I said blushing.  I could feel the heat from my blush all over my face.

“There’s no need to be embarrassed.  You never need to be with me.  We share everything.”  He placed a kiss upon the end of my nose before continuing.   “I won’t go into details, but afterwards you were sore from our vigorous activities,” he said with a smirk. “I suggested a nice soak in the tub.  You sat with your back to my chest and we snuggled.  Very innocent,” he said with a chuckle. “After a while I washed your body and hair before, as you did for me earlier, I put you to bed.”

“Did we sleep in the same bed?” I asked.  I had learned that a vampire’s daytime resting place was sacred and they rarely let anyone know where it was.

“No, I left you in the master bedroom upstairs right before dawn and went to my resting place that was secure and underground. Back then no one knew of vampires so there were no light tight shutters.  I was lucky to get a house with a basement and set up my resting place there.”

“Do you ever worry that I might do something to you in your sleep?” I asked him. Eric had shown me immense trust from the moment I had woken up from my accident.  I didn’t know him or anyone else and he chose to sleep by me day after day. “Now, that I don’t remember what we had together?”

“No, I don’t,” he said sincerely as he cupped the side of my face. “Do I need to worry that you’re going to stake me during my daytime rest?” he asked with a one of his eyebrows raised. “You’re still the same Sookie you’ve always been.  It’s not as if your personality changed when you lost your memory.  You’re  _not_  a murderer, but you  _are_  kind and caring even if you’re a little lost right now.”

“I feel like a burden,” I quietly admitted.  “You shouldn’t have to take care of me.  You don’t even eat food and yet you take me to the grocery store and help me cook dinner.  I don’t even go out in the daytime.”

Eric pulled me against his body and enclosed me in his embrace. I wrapped my arm around him and laid my head against his silent chest.   I felt safe and loved, which in turned made me feel slightly guilty that I couldn’t reciprocate the same feelings for him.

“I promise that you are not a burden.  I don’t mind cooking with you or taking you to the grocery store, but I can understand that you may need to feel more independent or want to be in the sunlight. I think it’s time we hire another day man and get you a new car. That way you will have a human to assist you and can help you with anything I cannot.  Would you be agreeable to hiring someone new?  Pam can go through and narrow down the applicants so we don’t have to waste our time interviewing them all.”

“Do you think that there will be a lot of applicants?  Pam shouldn’t use her spare time just so that we can get a new day man and I can get out during the daytime.”

“Yes, there will be many and wanting the job for a lot of different reasons.  Pam is a good judge of character and will be happy to help you.”

“Pam will do it because you ask her to do it, not because she wants to help me,” I stated and I felt Eric shrug against me.

“No matter.  She will help us with the process.  I will have her first consult the agency we sometimes use and if we don’t find anyone from there than we can place an ad.”

“What did you mean by people would apply for different reasons?” I asked him, pulling back enough so that I could look him inthe face.

“There are many out there that will apply for reasons that have nothing to do with employment.  This is where your telepathy came in handy.  You could read their ulterior motives which worked better than glamour, but Pam is excellent at interrogation.”

“Why would they apply if not for employment?”

“They may be looking for a vampire to give them their blood. Humans don’t understand that vampire blood is sacred and not to be shared with just anyone.  It’s very significant for a vampire to share their blood with  _anyone_  no matter if it’s human or vampire.”

“How many have you shared your blood with?”

“Only three.  My maker, Pam, and you.”

“Wow. Only three in a thousand years?” he gave me a slight nod. It didn’t escape my notice that I was the only human he had shared his blood with. “Why else would they apply?”

“Many hope to find a vampire that will turn them, some like the danger that is inherently involved when dealing with vampires. It could come down to money as vampires normally pay more than regular employers, or many just want to have sex with a vampire.”

“Why would they work for a vampire just to have sex with them?”

“Mmmm, my sweet Sookie.  Vampires are the best lovers,” he said with a smirk. Eric inched toward me as his fingers lightly caressed the side of my body, causing goosebumps to ripple across my skin and a dull ache to ignite between my legs.

“You see, Sookie,” he whispered seductively, brushing the side of my breast with one hand. “I  _never_ tire. My endurance and stamina are unsurpassed.”

Eric’s hand drifted down my waist and his finger traced the top of my pants.

“I can love you as hard and fast as you need or as slow and passionate as you want, for however long you want,” he said with a fiery smile that left me breathless.

“You seem to be very sure of yourself,” I stammered, barely above a whisper.

Eric licked his bottom lip and his blue eyes bored straight into mine.

“I am very confident in my abilities to please, but my talents and desire burn only for you.” He leaned in so close that I thought that any moment he would kiss me.

“My hands, my mouth,” he rasped, brushing his thumb over my bottom lip. “My tongue, my body… everything I am is only for you, Sookie.”

With a wave of relief and utter disappointment, he pulled away and tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear.

“Any other questions?” he purred with a satisfied but pained look on his face.

I shook my head no and looked down at my hands, willing my blush to either go away or to consume me and make me disappear.

Eric slowly and gently pulled me into his arms and my body instinctively relaxed. He cradled my head against his chest and gently stroked my hair. After a few moments of silence, the heat and aching slowly started to lessen and I felt Eric kiss the top of my head.

“We should rest,” he sighed. “It’s only an hour until dawn and you’ve had a very trying night and you’re tired.“

“Are you okay?  Healed I mean?” I asked him.

“I’ll be 100% when I rise tomorrow night thanks to you.  God natt, min vackra fru. Jag älskar dig. (Good night, my beautiful wife.  I love you.)”

“Why do you speak in Swedish when you know that I don’t know what you’re saying?” I asked with a yawn.

I felt him kiss the top of my head before he rested his cheek there, “I say it in Swedish because I do not think you are ready or want to hear what I have to say.”

“What are you saying?” I asked curiously.

“Only good things,” he replied.  “Good night, my Sookie.”  I guess he wasn’t going to elaborate and I wasn’t going to push it tonight.

“Good night, Eric,” I placed a kiss upon his chest and felt a burst of warmth flood me causing me to smile and snuggle him closer.

OoOoO

Eric and I had been interviewing potential day men for the past week.  Tonight we were on our fifth applicant.  Pam had done agood job sorting through them and making sure they only wanted the job with no extra benefits.

They all seemed nice and like they could do the job, but I wasn’t really feeling any connection to them. None of them were someone I would want to spend any time with.  During the process, Pam had found herself a day woman.  I had a feeling that one or both of them were getting some benefits out of the arrangement.

I had just finished with the schedule when Eric came walking in with a slightly pudgy man behind him.

“Take a seat,” Eric said gesturing toward one of the chairs in front of his desk.  He came behind the desk to lean against the wall beside me.

I had already looked over the man’s resume and he looked like he would be a good fit, Eric seemed to like him more than the rest.  I was wondering if it had anything to do the fact that he as short and stout.  Was he afraid I’d prefer someone else to him?  I couldn’t see how that was possible.  Eric was by far the most gorgeous man on the planet.  His body was perfect, but it was what’s on the inside that only I was allowed to see that I was finding myself drawn to.  I didn’t think there was anyone else who could or would ever treat me as good as Eric does.

“Sookie, this is Charlie Davidson.  Charlie, this is my wife, Sookie.”

“Hi.  Nice to meet you,” I said with a polite smile.

“Nice to meet you too ma’am,” he said as he stood up and stuck his hand out to shake.

[ ](http://i2.wp.com/gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/charlie-davidson.jpg)

As I shook his hand I replied, “Please call me, Sookie.”  I could feel that me shaking his hand was irritating Eric.  I looked back at him.  “I’m human so it’s perfectly fine for me to shake hands.”

He looked back and forth between Charlie and I before he gave me curt nod.  “Your duties will start off fairly simple for now,” Eric said while handing him a piece of paper with all the responsibilities he would have.  “Tomorrow my wife will call you after she gets up and ready.  Be aware this will most probably be in the afternoon.”  Charlie nodded that he understood. “You will drive her to the grocery store using her car and help her get the food that she needs.  Take her anywhere else she needs to go and bring her home.  Bring the groceries in and put them away.  If she has anything else for you to do then I want to do anything that she asks of you.  Do you understand?”

“Sounds simple enough,” Charlie replied.  “Can I ask a question?”

“Sure,” I replied.

“Is there a reason you can’t go out by yourself?” he asked me and then nervously looked at Eric.

“My wife was in a car accident a couple of months ago and now has amnesia.  She no longer has any memories from her life before the accident.”

“No way, man.  Really?” he said excitedly.

“Really, man,” Eric replied coolly.  “This is a trial run.  Make sure you answer her calls and don’t fuck up.”

“Right.  Don’t fuck up.  Got you man,” Charlie said to Eric.

“Good.  You may go,” Eric said, dismissing Charlie with a wave of his hand.

“It was nice to meet you, Sookie” he said as he stood up. He raised his arm to shake my hand, but thought differently as he looked over at Eric.

“It was nice to meet you too. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow,” Charlie said as he opened the door.

OoOoO

[ ](http://i0.wp.com/gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/loft_apartment_kiev_2b_group_21.jpg)

I woke up to Eric’s body wrapped around me.  This wasn’t the first time I had woken up like this, but he always waited until I fell asleep before he snuggled up to my back and wrapped an arm and leg around me.  The first time it happened it scared the living shit out of me.  I had woken up pinned down by an unknown weight.  I couldn’t see or move.  Eric must have felt my fear through our bond because he made a noise and tightened his hold on me.  When I realized it was him that was pinned me down, I squeaked out his name.  After giving me one more squeeze he loosened his grip on me and rolled onto his back.

This time I slowly extricated myself from his hold. I was becoming an expert at this. I took a quick shower and once I was dressed I checked the clock to see what time it was.  2: 00. I needed to call Charlie and let him know that I was up so that we could go get groceries.  I wasn’t sure why we needed to go today.  It wasn’t as if there was no food in the house, but Eric was determined for us to go the store today.

After calling Charlie to let him know that I was up and ready to go, I made my way to the kitchen for a quick breakfast.  I put a couple of pieces of bread in the toaster and pressed the button on my Keurig to make my coffee.

I had just finished the last bite of my toast when the doorbell rang.  At first I didn’t even know what the sound was until I heard someone knocking on the front door.  I quickly made my way to the door to find Charlie standing there with a big smile on his face.

“Come in,” I said as I stepped back.

He took in his surrounds for a moment before he looked back at me.  “This place is really cool. How long have you lived here?” he asked and then slapped his hand over his mouth. “Shit.  I’m sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it,” I gave him a small smile.  “It’s not a secret that I don’t remember.  I think we’ve lived here a little over a year from what Eric’s told me. Let me show you around.”

I gave him a tour of the house with the exception of our bedroom. There was no way he was going in there.

“I’ve never seen a loft like this before.  It’s amazing,” he said.

“I guess. I haven’t seen that many other houses,” I shrugged. “Let me go get my purse and the grocery list and we can be on our way.  I want to be back here before Eric wakes up for the night.”

We took the elevator down to the parking garage and made our way over to my new car that was sitting in the space right beside Eric’s car.

[ ](http://i2.wp.com/gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/2013-lexus-rx-350-awd.jpg)

[ ](http://i0.wp.com/gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/interior-sookies-car.png)

I hit the unlock button and then handed the keys over to Charlie once I was in on the passenger side and buckled in.

“Wow!  This is a pretty sweet ride.  Are you sure you don’t want to drive it?” Charlie asked, admiring the car.

“I’m sure.  Maybe once I know my way around a little bit more.  I’m a little nervous about driving again.”

“I can understand that.  It must have been awful to wake up one day and not remember anything.”

“That wasn’t the worst of it.  When I went into the bathroom, the left side of my head was shaved from the accident.”

“Well, it’s all back now.  Didn’t you say that the accident was only two months ago?  How did your hair grow back so fast?  Do you have extensions?” he asked looking my hair over.

“No.  Eric knows someone who made this concoction that I put on my head and it made my hair grow.”

“Are you sure?” he asked giving me a strange look.

“Yeah, trust me. I remember going and it growing back.”

I realized that I couldn’t tell him that Amelia was a witch. If werewolves weren’t known then witches probably weren’t either.

He looked around the interior of the car while we waited at a red light.  “How long have you had this car? It looks really new. Like it’s never been used.”

“Only a few days.  My other car got totaled so I had to get a new one.  Eric wanted to get me an SUV and it’s one of the safest cars there is on the market.  I don’t plan on getting in another wreck, but if I do hopefully this thing will protect me.”

“Maybe when you first start driving again you should do it with your husband.  Vampires have faster reflexes than humans.  If anything happened he could probably stop it.  Did you ever see the car you wrecked?”

I shook my head, “No. All I know is that it was totaled.”

“Do you know what happened?  Why you wrecked?” he asked.

“Someone from the other lane swerved and hit my car.  I hit a telephone pole and then the car from behind hit me.  That’s all I really know.  A nurse told Eric when he arrived at the hospital. The others were not as bad as me.  The man who hit me broke his arm and was pretty bruised up.”

“That’s how it always is.  The person responsible always gets the least amount of damage and the innocent ones get hurt.  I can’t imagine how bad the wreck had to be for you to lose your memories.”

“Pretty bad.  I almost died.  I had broken bones, and was bruised and scraped up from what Eric told me.”

“You don’t remember?”

“When I woke up the only thing that was wrong was that my memory was gone,” I replied.

“Were you in a coma?”

“No.  When Eric got to the hospital he gave me his blood to heal me.  The only thing it couldn’t heal was my amnesia,” I said with a shrug.  I was over it. There was nothing I could do, but make the most out of the situation.  I was slowly starting to get mylife back.

We pulled into the parking lot of the grocery store.  I had paid attention to the directions so that when I was ready I could drive myself here.

“Let me see your list so that we can compile the two list together.”

“What other list?” I asked him as I handed over my list.

He pulled another list out of his pocket. “The list your husband gave to me.”

“What’s on it?”  I had no idea why Eric would be giving him a separate list.

“Food.  He didn’t tell you?” he asked.

“Eric. No.  He didn’t.  What was he supposed to tell me?”

“It’s a request to get all the ingredients to make fried chicken, mashed potatoes, corn bread, green beans, and pecan pie.  Is this something you eat normally?”

“I think I used to, but I haven’t since the accident.  We’ve been slowly working my way through my Gran’s cookbook.”

“We?” he asked.

“Eric and I,” I said as I pushed the cart down the aisle.

“He cooks with you?  I thought vampires only drink blood.”

“They do, but I couldn’t remember how to prepare food or even what I liked.  Luckily, Eric knows what I like and how to make afew simple things. I started trying out recipes from the cookbook I found.  It took me forever at first to find the ingredients and figure out how to do some of the things it talked about.  Thank God for the Food Network. Since I was learning, Eric thought he would learn too.”

“Didn’t it freak you out to wake up and you were married to a vampire?” he asked as he put the milk in the cart.

“I don’t think it freaked me out any more than if he was human,” I shrugged. “I woke up lying next to a stranger and I didn’t even know myself.  There was a lot I had to take in, in a very short amount of time.  I was overwhelmed and scared, but Eric was patient with me and has always answered any and all of my questions.”

“You don’t find him scary at all?” he asked glancing at me with his eyebrows raised.

“Eric?  No,” I said shaking my head.  “I’m not scared of him or Pam, but the rest of the vampires that out there, those I’m scared of.  Are you scared of vampires?  If so I don’t know why you’d take a job working for one.”

“I think everyone should be somewhat scared of vampires, but I also feel like I have a healthy respect for them as well.  When I heard about the job, I asked around about Eric Northman. While I heard that he was scary and ruthless, I also heard that he was a good employer, loyal, and honorable.  That for a vampire, he seems like one of the good ones if you don’t get on his bad side,” he said while he placed a bundle of bananas in the cart.

“I’m also working for you and there’s definitely nothing scary about you,” he said looking around.  “You seem to know your way around the store pretty well.  Do you have any questions or anything?”

“Um… I don’t know.  I’ve learned my way around, but if you see anything you think I should try, put it in the cart.  I mostly go by what was in the pantry already or what Eric has said I prefer. I want to try some new things, see if there’s anything else I might like.”

“Sure.  No problem.  As you can see, I have a love for all things’ food,” he said while gesturing toward his round stomach.  “I can introduce you to all kinds of foods.”

We went down every aisle in the store while Charlie added new items for me to try.  When we got to the checkout and placed everything on the conveyor belt, he looked back at me.

“I don’t think I’ve ever bought that many groceries before in my life.  You may not have to go to the store for a month or more. Where does that leave me?”

I giggled at him.  “Maybe not, but I’m sure we’ll find something for you to do.  We can shop for other things or I might want to get out of the house during the day.  Don’t worry, you’re not out of a job.”

OoOoO

We had so many grocery bags that Charlie and I couldn’t carry them all to the elevator so he found a cart that we used totransport them without making multiple trips.  Charlie had only started to unload the bags onto the counter when Eric walked into the kitchen.

[ ](http://i0.wp.com/gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/alexander-skarsgard_blakegardner-644x3328_q100.jpg)

“Holy shit!” Charlie exclaimed.  “What are you doing up?  It’s still daylight out and the sun’s streaming through the windows.” He looked back and forth between Eric and I until his gaze finally settled on Eric and his mouth was gaping open.

Eric laughed at Charlie’s expression.  “I’m a very old vampire.  I can rise before the sun sets and our house is equipped with special UV windows so that I leave my daytime resting place.”

Charlie could only nod his head as he took in this new information.  It made me smile that I wasn’t the only one who didn’t know everything.

“Hello, min älskade,” Eric said after placing a kiss on my forehead.  “How has your day been so far?”

“Good,” I replied, looking up at him.  “We just got back from the store as you can see.”  I pointed to all the bags scattered alongthe countertop.  “Älskade, is new. What did you call me?”

“My beloved,” he said looking down at me before he looked at Charlie.  “Did you get all the ingredients to make what I asked for?”

“Yes,” Charlie replied.  He still looked stunned to see Eric walking around the house while the sun was still up.

“Why couldn’t you put it on my list?” I asked him curiously.

“If I would have put them on your list, you would have asked questions about why I wanted the ingredients.”

“I’m still going to ask why you want them.  Give it up,” I replied.

He chuckled at me, “Very well, dear one.  Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day and I’m going to attempt to make your favorite meal that your Gran used to make.”

“Tomorrow’s Valentine’s Day?  Is there some reason that day is more special than all the rest?”

“It’s a day where you’re supposed to celebrate your love for your girlfriend or your wife, husband or boyfriend. We’ve never made a big deal out of it, but we always go out to dinner.  I thought we could do something different, maybe start a new tradition where I cook for you.”

“Dude, you’re making all us guys look bad.  You don’t even eat and you’re making her dinner,” Charlie responded before me.

“That’s really sweet, Eric,” I said with a big smile.  I stood on my tippy toes and placed a kiss on his cheek.  He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me into him while he buried his face into my neck.

“You’re okay with this?” he asked with his lips brushing against my ear.  I could only nod and hug him back.


	9. Valentine

I was sitting in the reading area when I heard the beep of our bedroom door.  A quick look up at the windows and sure enough it was almost sundown.  I caught a streak of light out of the corner of my eye and when I looked over, Eric was sitting beside me with a smile on his face.  Even though I was somewhat used to Eric using vamp speed I still gasped.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you,” he said with a smirk.

I grabbed his mouth with my hand and smiled at him.  “The look upon your face says otherwise.”

His only response was to chuckle at me.

“Are you hungry?” he asked me as he reached for my hand.

“Mmmm.  I could eat.  Are you seriously going to make me dinner?  You know you don’t have to do that.”

“I know I don’t.  Trust me, I don’t do anything I don’t want to do and I want to do this for you.  Why don’t you go take a nice, hot bath while I make dinner and when you’re done it will ready for you?”

“Are you sure you don’t want any help?  I don’t mind at all.”

“I’m sure.  I want to do this for you.  I want to take care of my mate, my wife,” he said earnestly.

“If you’re sure,” I said. He gave me a slight nod.  “Then come get me when it’s done.”

[ ](http://i2.wp.com/gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/master-bathroom-loft.jpg)

I lowered the lights in the bedroom/bathroom and filled the bathtub with as hot of water as I could stand before I carefully slipped inside. Leaned my head back as I took in the smell of the lavender and vanilla oil I had added, I closed my eyes as I let the aroma of the oil slowly relax me.  I had almost fallen asleep when I heard a loud crash that echoed from the kitchen, breaking me out of my relaxed trance like state.

I jumped out of the cooling water and wrapped a towel around myself then quickly darted down the hallway, leaving droplets of lavender and vanilla scented water in my wake.

Before I even reached the kitchen I noticed gray smoke fogging up the room and the smell of something burning filled the air. With a quick tug, I covered my nose with my towel and quietly padded closer to the kitchen.  Eric was harshly mumbling something in Swedish while he tossed what sounded like pots and pans into the sink.  With more grumbling, I heard the water from the sink turn on and loud sizzling cut through the air.

With a few more steps I finally peered into the kitchen and found Eric’s back to me.  His head was tilted up towards the ceiling and his hands were resting on his hips.  The kitchen was a mess, but thankfully it looked as if whatever was causing the smoke was now gone.

I took a breath to call out his name, but I ended up coughing instead.  Eric whipped around, his eyes wide and clearly caught off guard.  He quickly schooled his features and the next thing I knew, I was being carried out of the kitchen and back up to our bedroom.

“Sookie why aren’t you enjoying your bath?” he asked.

I looked up at Eric and bit my bottom lip to keep from laughing out loud.  Smudges and splatters of what looked like flour were all over Eric’s face, hair, chest, and a couple of little brown and black specks that covered his hands.

“Sookie?” he repeated.

Unable to hold it back any longer I covered my mouth with my hand and laughed so hard I could feel tears threatening to spill over.  Between my hearty laughs and gasps for air, I could hear Eric grumble and eventually laughed as well.

“I’m so glad I can amuse you,” Eric chuckled and set me down on my feet.

“I’m sorry.  I really am,” I said, wiping the wetness from my eyes.  “You’re just too adorable for words.”

“Adorable?” Eric said, crinkling his nose with distaste.

“Most definitely.” I smiled up at him and tightened my towel around myself. “I heard a crash and ran down to the kitchen to make sure everything was okay.”

“Ah,” Eric drawled out.  “That would have been the, uh, chicken.” His eyes were cast downward and I was unsure if it was from the dinner he had failed to make or if he was trying to not look at me while I stood in front of him in only a towel.

“The chicken?”

“Yes,” he cleared his throat and shoved his hands into his pants pockets.  “I must have underestimated the temperature of the pan and before I knew it, the chicken was black and in the process of removing it from the pan, it slipped out of my grasp and fell… somehow, the other pans on the stove fell too,” he said with a bewildered smile on his face.

“Oh, Eric,” I said with a chuckle.  My hand cupped his flour covered cheek and I pressed my lips to the corner of his mouth, giving him a quick peck.

He glanced at me with a confused smile.

“New plan,” he stated.  “Since, I effectively destroyed your dinner, why don’t we go out?  Anywhere you like.  You name it andwe’re there.”

I gently patted his chest and giggled when the flour on his shirt puffed up.

“Would you mind if we just stayed home and ordered in a pizza?  It’s a nice night out.  Maybe we can sit outside and eat?” I asked him and grinned.  “Maybe air out the house while we’re at it?”

“Are you sure that is what you really want?”

“Yup,” I replied, popping the ‘p’.

With a smile and an elaborate bow, Eric said, “Then your wish is my command.”

OoOoOo

I took another bite of my pizza and happily sighed when the melted cheesy goodness hit my tongue.

We sat quietly by the fire outside while I ate my dinner and looked out into the night.  There wasn’t a cloud in the sky and all you could see around us was millions of stars in the clear dark sky.

  
[ ](http://i2.wp.com/gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/02/decking-fire-pit-desing-608.jpg)

Fire Pit on deck

“I don’t understand why I was unsuccessful,” Eric said next to me, breaking the quiet.  “I followed the instructions the way they were written.  Maybe I should’ve had you stay with me to help.”

“Eric, I don’t think it would have mattered.  I have no idea how to fry chicken any more than you do, but that’s okay.  It’s the thought that counts.  It was very sweet that you wanted to make me one of my favorite dinners.”

After I ate my last bite, Eric took my plate and placed it on the ground beside his lounger before he turned and faced toward me.

“How was your dinner?”

“It was good.  I really like this pizza.  Thank you,” I replied.

“There is no reason for you to thank me, but I want to ask you something and I want you to be honest with me.”

“I’m always honest with you.  You can ask me anything. I’ve asked you about a million questions since the accident.”  I felt a brief pang of sadness when I mentioned the accident, but he was quick to lock it away before it affected either one of us for too long.

“I want to know if you’re happy,” he asked me seriously.

“You know that I’m happy.  You can  _feel_  that I’m happy.” I couldn’t understand where he was coming from.  Why he was asking me if I was happy?  Was he unhappy?

He sat closer to me and took both of my hands into one of his strong, large hands.  “I can feel that you’re happy, but I have noidea what’s going on in here,” he said as he tapped my forehead. “Your life has been turned upside down and even thoughyou’re still the same Sookie, I want to make sure you’re doing what makes you happy  _now_ and not what made you happy before.”

“I don’t know what to tell you.  I’m happy,” I said as I shrugged my shoulders. “I’m not thinking that I’m not or unpleasant thoughts or anything like that.  I like my life here with you and the only thing that I could possibly want, you cannot give it to me.  What about you.  Are you happy?”

“You know very well that I’m happy.  As you said, you can feel that I am.”

“I can feel that you’re happy.  You’re right, but I also know that you hide some of your emotions from me.  You did it just a fewseconds ago and it hasn’t been the first time,” I said with a raised eyebrow.

“It is true that I try to not have you feel certain feelings of mine.”

“Why?” I asked him.

“You have done nothing wrong.   _Nothing._   But there are times when things are said or done that it reminds me of my wife, Sookie.  I sometimes miss her and you don’t deserve to feel that,” he said looking down at our hands.  His thumb was rubbing back and forth over my wedding and engagement rings.

“I hate that I’m not who you want me to be.  I wish that you never had to feel the sadness of losing your wife.  You’re so good to me and you shouldn’t have to hide your feelings from me.  I don’t want you to.”

“Sookie,” he said before he pulled me onto his lap and wrapped his strong arms around me.  He held me for a moment before he finally spoke.  “You  _are_  who I want you to be.  You are my wife and I’m still your husband, but sometimes I miss my lover and best friend.  I miss certain things about you that have been absent, but I’m grateful that you’re still here in my life and that you want to be here with me.”

He kissed the top of my head and squeezed me a little harder.

“I understand and I wish I could be those things for you again.  To me you are all those things,” I said.  “Except my lover.”

“You’re still my best friend,” he said as he cupped my chin and tilted my head so that I would look at him.  “Do you remember when you asked me if I wanted to act as I did before the accident?”

“I do,” I replied, holding my head up a little straighter and looking deep into his blue-green eyes.  “What does that have to do with my being your best friend?”

“There are some things that I hold back, that I’m keeping to myself so that I don’t overwhelm or scare you.  By doing that I don’t feel as if I’m being honest with you. I’m not telling you everything and we used to tell each other everything.  We hid nothing from each other.”

“What are you holding back or hiding from me?” I asked him, looking down at my hands.  I didn’t like that he felt he couldn’t be honest with me.

He lifted my chin again and I watched him examine my face as if he was looking for something that only he could find.  Once he was done he placed a soft, lingering kiss on my forehead. He let out an unnecessary sigh before he spoke. “I hide my affection from you.”  Seeing my confused face he continued. “I want to show more affection,” he said giving me a pointed look. “I want to be able to kiss you whenever and wherever I want.  I want to make love to you.  I want to tell you that I love you,” he said while cupping my face with both of his hands.

“You don’t feel like you can tell me you love me,” he shook his head.  “Eric, I know that you love me. I feel your love for me every moment that you’re awake.  There’s no better feeling than to feel your love for me.  So if you want to tell me that you love me then I want you to.”

“I don’t want to overwhelm you,” he replied looking at me with sad eyes.

“And you think telling me you love me is going to push me over the edge?” I asked him.  He shrugged his shoulders.  “What do you think is going to happen?”

“That it will become too much and you’ll leave here.  Leave me.”

“I’m not going to leave you.  I promise you that.  Eric, you’re the sweetest man ever!”

“I’m not a man,” he said with furrowed brows.

“Fine. Vampire.  You’re the sweetest vampire ever.  Is that better?”

“Better, but only slightly and I’m only that way with you,” he said and placed a kiss on the tip of my nose.  Proving he was the sweetest vampire of them all.

I felt my smile widen at his sweet gesture.  “That makes it even better.  As for the rest, I’m not quite ready for the part where we make love.” Eric nodded his head.  “But we can do other things until I’m ready can’t we?  I think I’d be more comfortable if we worked up to it.”

“We can do whatever you’re comfortable with,” he said rocking me back and forth on his lap for a few minutes before he pulled back some.  “Once you’ve experienced my ability to please you, you won’t be nervous anymore,” he said with a smirk on his face while waggling his eyebrows.

“You’re so confident.”

“Of course I am.  I know your body and how to please it in a number of ways,” he said with his smirk still in place.

“But I don’t know how to please you. I have no knowledge except from what little I’ve seen on TV and in movies that we’ve watched.”

His smirk fell from his face I as spoke my insecurities to him. “Do what feels natural to you and if you have any questions ask me.  Although you had seen and heard of sex, you need to remember you were a virgin when we got together.  You were nervous then too.  I’m a vampire and have been for a very long time.  You can ask me anything for there’s no chance in embarrassing me.  Now, we need to get off this subject before I fly us to our bedroom and don’t let you leave until morning.”

“What did you have in mind then?” I asked unsure if I wanted to change the subject.

“Let’s go inside I have something I want to give you.”

I followed Eric inside and up the stairs toward our bedroom. As I started to sit down on the bed, I noticed that he was leaving the room so I stood up to follow him.

“Stay.  I’ll be back in just a minute,” he said with his hand up, stopping me.

I watched as he used his vampire speed to leave the room. Within seconds he was back with a box in his hands.  It was blue with black writing on the top of it and a white ribbon tied in a bow.

[ ](http://i1.wp.com/gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/tiffany-box-la.jpg)

“What’s this?” I asked, looking from him to the box and back again.

“A gift for you,” he said as he got down on both of his knees in front of me and held the pretty blue box out to me.

I slowly took the box from him and lifted the lid to see a stunning, shiny silver bracelet.  I knew that Eric would never give me anything that was silver since it would burn him if it touched him so the bracelet must be like our wedding rings.

[ ](http://i0.wp.com/gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/sookies-infinity-bracelet-la.png)

My fingers traced along the elongated figure eights that linked each other together before I looked up to meet his gaze.

“Do you like it?” he asked with a shy smile while he placed it on my wrist.

“Like it?   I love it.  It’s beautiful, Eric, but why are you giving me this?  You said today wasn’t a special day for us. Yet, you try to cook me dinner and now you give me this beautiful bracelet. Why?”

“Do I need a reason to do things for you?”

“No, but you seem to be trying to make this special and I don’t understand why.”

“It’s more the idea that the day reminded me that I should treat  _you_  special more often.”

“There’s my sweet husband,” I said to him as I cupped the left side of his face and rubbed my thumb over his cheekbone.

He pretended to give me a mock glare with furrowed eyebrows, but I could feel that inside it secretly made him happy that I was calling him my sweet husband and that he had made me feel special.

After I had scooted on the bed and laid down, I looked back at Eric and patted the bed beside me.  By the time I had moved to lay on my side, Eric was already next to me on his own side with a sweet smile on his face.

“Eric, what do these eights mean?” I asked as I pointed to my new bracelet.

“That eight as you called it is the symbol for infinity.  Infinity means there is no limit.  This bracelet symbolizes my love for you.  My love for you is limitless and without end,” he said with so much emotion in his voice. I could see the love he had for me in his eyes and felt it in our bond.

Tears welled in my eyes as I felt Eric’s all-consuming love for me.  How could he have wondered if I was happy?  This man, vampire, my husband before me believed his heart was unmoving and cold.  Didn’t he realize how warm and caring he truly was?

My tears started to fall thinking of tonight.  He wanted to show me that I was special to him. He had wanted to be able to tell me he loves me, but hadn’t because he believed that it will overwhelm me and push me away. He gave me a beautiful bracelet to symbolize how much he loves me.

What do I have for him?  Petty assurances that I’m happy, that I won’t ever leave, that I care deeply for him.  He hadn’t even asked to drink from me since the night he was shot.  He went right back to drinking his Royalty.  He never asked me for anything, but what can I give him?

“Sookie,” he said, wiping away the tears from my cheeks.  “My sweet girl, why are you crying?  I thought you liked your present.”  He was confused and concerned by my reaction.

“I do,” I said as I looked him directly in the eye.  “I was thinking about all that you’ve done for me and how you feel like you can’t even tell me you love me.”  More tears slipped down my cheeks as I continued.  “I feel as if I have nothing to give to you.  How can you be happy with me?  I think you deserve better than me, better than the way I treat you.”

“Sookie, I have only ever wanted to make you happy.  It was never my intention to make you feel this way.”  He pressed his lips together for a moment before sitting up and pulling me into his lap, straddling him.  “I am sorry but you must understand, you are the best thing that has  _ever_  happened to me.  You give me more than you can possibly know and you’ve made my lifeworth living after a millennia of darkness.  You have given me what I never knew I needed.”

“What have I given you?” I asked as I stared into his soulful eyes.

“Most importantly love, your love.  I never wanted or needed to be loved or to love anyone. I thought of love as being weak until I met you.  You’ve brought me happiness, friendship, a confidant, and my humanity back to me in the short amount of time we’ve known each other.  All the goodness you see in me, you’ve brought it out in me.  That is not inconsequential,” he saidshaking his head. “You are my lover, my mate, my wife, and my pledged.  Never once in a thousand years did I think I’d have anyone to share my life with.  That I’d  _want_  to share all aspects of my life with someone.”

“I gave you those before.  What do I give you now?”

“You still give me all of those things,” when I started to dispute his statement he placed a lone finger against my lips to quiet me.  “I have not confided everything to you that is true, but it was only my feelings and wants.  Nothing of importance.”

I scooted closer on his lap and placed my hands on his shoulders.  “Your feelings and wants  _are_ important.  Don’t trivialize them.  Not to me,” I chastised him.

He nodded his head, “What I meant by nothing of importance is I’m not making decisions for you or keeping to myself something that will affect you or us.”

“You may not see it that way, but you are. Hiding your feelings has been affecting you and I think that if you continue than it will drive a wedge between us.  I don’t think you want that to happen,” I stated and he shook his head.  “I want you to be honest with me and to not worry about overwhelming me.  I’ll let you know if it ever becomes too much, but I don’t think it will be a problem.  I already feel you through the bond and it’s not as if we would be going from no affection to whatever you want to do.”

“Why are you embarrassed?  You have no reason to be,” he questioned with one of his eyebrows quirked up in that way he always does and it made me laugh.

“What’s so funny, Lover?” A smile slowly spread across his face.

“Your eyebrow,” I said as I traced it with my fingertip.  “I love it when you arch it up the way you do.”

“You do, do you?” he replied arching his eyebrow once again. I could only nod and laugh again.  Eric’s feelings through our bond were almost overwhelming.  He was so happy to be able to talk to me, to be his playful self with me, and I knew he wanted more.

I wanted more.

“Why were you embarrassed?” he asked again.

“I just… I may not be ready for you know,” I paused, licking my lips and darted my eyes to his sculpted chest beneath his tightblack shirt, “but that doesn’t mean I’m not ready to try other… things.”

“Sookie,” Eric whispered with a pained groan.

I quickly looked up and was caught under his hooded gaze, my skin burned and itched for him to touch me.

“Why do you always stop me?” I whispered.  “Is it because I can’t remember?”

Shock widened his heated stare before he furrowed his brows. With a firm grip on my hips he pulled me closer to him and positioned my center right on top of the frighteningly large bulge in his pants.  I let out a gasp and my whole body shivered with desire.  With need.

My need for Eric.

“Know this Sookie,” he said with a serious tone. “I want you.  I burn for you and one day I will have you again.”

My heart started to beat rapidly in my chest and the ache between my legs was almost unbearable. With the potent combination of his fiery stare, the erotic feeling of his hard body pressed against mine and the power of his words… his promise, I somehow managed to stay focused.

“Then why are you always stopping me?” I asked again.

“I only stopped us from going further because I felt that you weren’t ready and I didn’t want you to regret it later on.”

“But isn’t that for me to decided?  If I’m ready or not?”

“I refuse to do anything that might damage our relationship. Even if it means forgoing hours of intense pleasure to assure thatyou are comfortable with me than so be it, but make no mistake Sookie Stackhouse,” his voice was low and almost dangerous, “one day I will have you, but not until you are completely ready for me.  For us.”

I closed my eyes and bit my lip to hold back a whimper that threatened to escape.

Hours of intense pleasure.

Focus Sookie.  You need to focus!

I opened my eyes and took a deep shaky breath. “Eric, I’ve never been uncomfortable around you and to tell you the truth I don’t think it’s even possible.”

My hands slowly snaked up his firm chest and over his tense shoulders before I threaded them through his soft hair.  I pressed my breasts against his chest and his grip on my hips tightened.

“Like I said, Eric, I may not be ready to go all the way, but I do want to try other things.  Don’t get me wrong, kissing you is absolutely amazing but I’m ready for more.”

A growl rumbled from his chest as he leaned over to kiss me, but I stopped him right before our lips touched.

“And Eric,” I whispered sweetly. “It’s Northman.  Sookie Northman.”

The sound of Eric’s fangs snapping down was the last thing I heard before his lips devoured mine.  His hands moved from my hips and slid to my back, while he caressed every inch of me, pressing me closer to him.

Eric groaned when my tongue slid across his bottom lip and he didn’t hesitate to part his lips. Eager to take me in. Our tongues pushed and massaged along one another’s and I let myself get carried away with our feelings through the bond and Eric’s skillful mouth.

While one of my hands tangled in Eric’s hair, my other hand dropped and was determined to feel every part of him that I could reach.  In response, his large hands traveled along my arms then to my shoulders before making their way to the sides of my body, as he caressed every inch of me.

Eric broke our kiss and I gasped as his kisses started to trail down my neck. Somehow my hands found themselves under hisshirt and I wasted no time touching and stroking every line, dip and curve of his cooled muscular chest and stomach.

So strong and beautiful, I thought to myself as I reveled in Eric’s hiss when I rolled my hips against him.  I shuddered when I felt his length twitch beneath me and I moaned when he thrust his hips up to mine.  His kisses and playful nips drifted further down my neck and my body burned with need.

“I need to feel your skin,” I rasped and before I knew it, his shirt was torn from his body and was lying in a heap on the floor.

His cool body pressed against mine but it was not enough.  His kisses were lighting me on fire and his hands were scorching my skin.  I rolled my hips one more time and threw my head back as Eric kissed, licked and nipped along my collarbone then down to my chest. Suddenly, my back was pressed against the cool satin sheets of our bed and Eric was above me, grinding his jean covered erection onto my fully covered sex.

It felt so good and if it felt like this when we’re fully clothed, I couldn’t even begin to fathom what it would feel like if we were naked.

My body was overheating and I needed to feel his cool skin against mine. I started to take off my shirt, but Eric stopped me by pinning my hands above my head.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” he asked me.

“Yes,” I whispered, my body curved off the bed as I tried to get closer to the object of my desire.

Eric eyes blazed with hunger as he leaned down and kissed me with such passion that my toes actually curled.  When I needed to breathe he let go of my hands before he removed my shirt and bra and threw it where his torn shirt was laying on the floor.

I stared up at Eric as he kneeled between my legs, looking down at me.  His blue eyes roamed all over my chest and stomach and with one hand, his fingertips lightly traveled along my bare skin, causing goosebumps to form in their wake. I could feel my chest rapidly rise and fall as he touched everything but my breasts.  My nipples hardened and my breasts ached for his touch, but no matter how I squirmed and whimpered, he never touched me where I needed him.

“So beautiful,” he murmured before he leaned over and kissed me.

I sighed happily into his mouth but I wanted more.

“More,” I mumbled as I broke our kiss.

“If it’s more that you want,” he said with a devious smile, “than more you shall have.”

One of Eric’s large hands cupped and gently caressed my breast and I closed my eyes, letting the feelings of pleasure consume me.

“Sweet Sookie,” he whispered in my ear. “Do you like it when I touch you like this?”

Unable to form words, I simply nodded my head.

“How about this?” he purred. I gasped and arched my back when he pinched my nipple and rolled it between his cool, steady fingers.

A low sound of satisfaction rumbled from his chest and I nearly cried out when his confined erection roughly stroked my covered sex.  His hand never stopped caressing my breast and without thinking, I wrapped my legs around his waist and pulled him closer to me.

“I know all the things your body likes.”  Eric licked my earlobe then playfully nipped at it.

“Eric,” I breathed out, while my hands touched and caressed the muscles of his back as they rippled and flexed with every oneof his movements.

“I know how you liked to be kissed,” he said, pressing his lips against neck. “How you like to be licked,” his tongue traveled down my chest than peppered sweet kisses across my breast, stopping just short of my nipple. “How you like to be worshiped,” he growled.

His lips wrapped around my nipple and I cried out his name. My fingers threaded into his silky hair and I nearly lost it when his erection stroked against my sex once more, teasing me; giving me a taste of what it could be like.  My head was spinning anddespite his cool body covering mine, I was still on fire!

He sucked, flicked and gently teethed my sensitive nipple and I could feel sweat begin to bead on top of my skin. He squeezed my breast and his lips hungrily moved over to my other nipple, showing it just as much attention as the other.

It all felt so good.  Though the feel of his mouth and tongue on my breasts, his body pressed on top of mine, and the sound of his moans filling my ears was making me tremble with pleasure; it was the feeling of his length as it rubbed against me that was driving me closer and closer to the edge.

Everything he was doing was overwhelming but I wanted more!

“More,” I whimpered.  Eric paused for a moment before continuing.

“As you wish,” he whispered.

With his mouth still on my breasts, his free hand trailed down my body to the top of my pants and he flicked the button open on my jeans and slowly unzipped them.

“Please,” I whispered, not sure what I was asking for, but I knew that I could trust Eric to give me what I needed and still respect that I wasn’t ready to have sex.

I looked down to find Eric looking back at me, passion and desire burning in his eyes. His cool fingers grazed over my wet panties and I gasped when he pressed and slowly circled my swollen clit.

“Oh god, Eric!” I cried out, closing my eyes.

“Sookie,” Eric rasped, “You’re so wet, so fucking wet.”

I rocked my hips against his touch and once again I called out for more.  Without hesitating, his long, slender finger, slid beneath my drenched panties.  His thumb resumed its tortuous attention to my sensitive flesh as his fingers moved up and down my slit.

“You have no idea what I want to do with you.” Eric voice was rough and seductive.

My eyes flew open and I found Eric above me, watching as he touched me.

“Tell me,” I whispered, grasping onto his shoulders.

He groaned as a pained look crossed his face.

“Lover, I want to strip you of your clothes and bury my face between your heavenly legs; licking, sucking and fucking you with my tongue,” he purred. “I want to make you scream my name and cum in my mouth before I bury my cock in you.”

“Yes,” I gasped and cried out when his thumb circled my clit faster and harder and a finger slid into my sex. “Yes!”

He added another finger and I buried my nails into his shoulders, rocking my hips faster into his hand.

“Eric,” I chanted his name over and over again.

“Look at me, Sookie,” he commanded and I quickly obeyed.

“But I won’t fuck you,” he told me as he curled his fingers inside of me, as he pumped them harder and faster.  Faster and deeper. “No, I’ll make love to you.  To your body,” he growled.  “To your heart. Your soul.”

With that, my whole body clenched and an explosion of ecstasy and euphoria rocketed through me and I lost myself to my orgasm.  Somewhere I heard Eric call out my name with a guttural groan and another spike of pleasure ricocheted through me, but this time it came from our bond. Seconds, minutes or maybe hours passed and when I finally returned to my senses, Eric was kissing my lips, mumbling against them while his erection lazily thrust and rubbed against my thigh.

“Eric,” I whimpered.  He pulled away from my lips and smiled, moving my damp hair out of my face.

“Bite me,” I breathed out. “Feed from me.”

His beautiful smile faltered and he looked unsure.

“Sookie, I’m not sure that…”

“Please,” I interrupted him. “I want you to.”

I needed him.  I couldn’t explain why, but I needed him to feed from me.

After another silent moment he nodded his head and bowed his head towards my neck.

“No,” I told him and pushed his face toward my breast. “Here.”

A low growl escaped his mouth as I felt his fangs gently scrape against the flesh of my breast.  He took my hardened nipple into his mouth, and he licked and sucked me into another frenzy. His fangs slowly and gently sank into my flesh and instead of feeling pain, a warm rush of rapture overcame me and I moaned in pleasure.

I had no idea that feeling Eric feed from me could feel like this. He told me it wouldn’t hurt, but this felt so good. So enjoyable.

I ran my fingers through his hair as he fed, enjoying the closeness and intimacy with him.  Minutes later, Eric licked my wounds and kissed my chest, right above my heart.

“Thank you my Sookie.” He reverently said, then pulled me into his arms and laid us on the bed.  “Thank you, my love.”

I fought to keep my eyes open, but it was useless.  My body was satisfied and exhausted and all I wanted to do was fall asleep in my husband’s arms. I felt beautiful, sexy, cherished, but most of all loved.  In or out of the bed, Eric made me feel this way and I loved it.

I was falling in love with him.

As the darkness of sleep began to steal me away, I could hear Eric’s voice echoing into my dreams.

“I love you, Sookie,” he whispered and placed a gentle kiss upon my lips.  “I love you.”


	10. Anchored

“Where are you and Charlie going?” Eric asked me when he came out of the bathroom freshly showered.  He had a towel wrapped around his hips and his hair was still dripping causing water to fall and trail down his chest.

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I was momentarily distracted as I watched one of the drops make its way down his sculpted chest and each of his chiseled abs.

“Sookie?” he asked with a lopsided smirk.

“Shopping,” I replied quickly.

I didn’t want to tell him that we were going shopping so that I could find him a present.  Ever since Valentine’s Day when he gave me my bracelet, I had been thinking that I wanted to get him something, but I wanted it to have meaning.

Eric had been so patient with me since the accident. He was even willing to let me go and do whatever would make me happy. Even if it wasn’t with him.  I wasn’t sure how I managed to get this selfless man/vampire to fall in love with me before, but I could definitely see why I fell in love with him.

I was falling in love with him now.

“Is that all you’re going to give me?  That you’re going shopping. What are you hiding from me?” he asked with concern andsome other unknown emotion evident through his voice, eyes, and our bond.

“Eric,” I said as I slowly walked up to him and placed a hand on his chest.  Looking up into his soulful eyes, I continued.  “I’m not hiding anything bad from you.  I want to go shopping for something, but I don’t know if I’ll find what I’m looking for. So I don’t want to tell you now, but I promise I’ll let you know if I find it.”

He scanned my face while his brow was furrowed.  “If you tell me what you’re looking for than maybe I can help you.  Possibly tell you where to shop,” he said while he twirled a lock of my hair around his finger.

“What if I want it to be a surprise?  Can you let me try and surprise you?” I asked him.

“You want to surprise me?” he asked astonished.

I lifted up on my toes and softly kissed him.  As I turned around and walked out of the room I called back to him, “You’ll have to wait and see. I’ll have Charlie bring me to Fangtasia when we’re done.”

As I got to the end of the stairs, the doorbell rang.  I quickly scooped up my purse and keys as I made my way to the door.

“Hi, Charlie!  Are you ready to go?” I asked him as I stepped out into the hallway.

“Sure, Sookie.  Are you in a hurry for some reason?” he asked me as he followed me to the elevator, glancing back at the door.

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“Yes, Eric is suspicious because I won’t tell him why we’re going shopping.” I said as I pushed the button for the elevator.

“Is there a reason why you don’t want to tell him?” he asked as we got out to the elevator and stepped out into the parking garage.

I looked around the garage as I opened the passenger side door and got in.  Charlie got in and started the car, looking at me with his eyebrow crooked up.

“I don’t want him to know because I want to get Eric something, but I don’t know what yet.  I didn’t want to tell him I was getting him a present and then come back empty-handed,” I sighed and looked out the window.  “I’m pretty sure he has everything he could possibly want. I mean he’s been alive for over a thousand years and has more money than even Pam can spend.  Do you have any ideas?” I asked him hopefully.

“Hmmm, I don’t know.  There’s a real nice outdoor shopping area that has a quite a few specialty shops.  We could go and look there.  Afterwards we can eat at one of the cafes before you go to Fangtasia. Sound good?” he asked, taking a quick look over at me.

“Sounds like a plan. I hope I find something for him.  I want to show him how much I care for him and all that he’s been through since my accident.”

We were quiet as Charlie drove us to the shopping center.  We had been into a few shops, but so far, I hadn’t seen anything that I wanted to get Eric.  I was starting to give up hope that I’d find something on this excursion when Charlie suggested that we eat dinner and try the shops that were a little further down once we were done.

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Charlie had been introducing me to a lot of new foods, and so far he hadn’t steered me wrong. So, when he asked me to trust him and that he’d order for me I gave him the go ahead.  I found us a table outside and as I waited for Charlie to join me with our food, I looked out at the night sky and thought about Eric.

I was imagining what it would be like to go over a thousand years and only see the moon and stars.  It wasn’t until we had moved into our loft (a little over a year ago, according to Eric) with the special UV windows that Eric had seen the sunrise.  Although the night sky was beautiful, I would hate it if I had to give up seeing the beautiful colors of the day.

“Hey!  Where were you?” asked Charlie as he sat down with two big plates, lined with newspaper that were full of crawfish, potatoes, sausage, and corn on the cob.  They smelled heavenly and I couldn’t wait to try it.

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“I was just thinking about Eric and only being able to see the night for over a thousand years,” I replied as I watched how he ate the crawfish before I dug into my own plate.

“You know I was a little nervous when I interviewed for this job. I’d never worked for a vampire before and I’d heard some scary stories about them.  I thought that since I’d also be working for you it wouldn’t be too bad.”

“Do you like your job?” I asked him as I sucked on my crawfish head.

“Like my job?  I love it!  First of all, the hours are great.  I’ve never been a nine to five kind of guy,” he started, but I interrupted him.

“Nine to five?”

“That’s the hours most people work.  All the people out there with boring jobs,” he said with a chuckle.  “I get to take you out to eat which is one of my favorite things,” he said as he pointed to his round stomach, “and try new food, you’re not overly demanding, I get paid extremely well, and I get benefits. It’s the perfect job for me and you’re probably the sweetest person I know so it’s easy to work for you. Your husband on the other hand is not as fun to be around. I’m afraid that if I mess up I’m going to see the scary side to him or worse.”

Pausing my eating, I looked up at him.  “Eric would never doing anything to you.  You should know that if you’re working for us. I don’t want you scared something’s going to happen to you.  You have nothing to worry about where he’s concerned.”

Charlie looked at me seriously for a moment before he spoke, “If something happened to you while you were with me or because of me, he would show me no mercy.  I have a feeling I’d be lucky to live, but that’s the way it should be.  You’re his wife and it’s obvious that he loves you,” he smiled and shook his head.  “If all those idiots from the Fellowship of the Sun could see how he treats you then maybe they’d stop with all their vampire hate propaganda.”

“Why do you say that?” I asked him.  I knew very little about the Fellowship of the Sun and what I did know wasn’t good.

“They claim that vampires have no feelings and they cannot love. They’re only here to drink our blood and murder us.  The only good vampire is a dead vampire.”

I hated that there were people out there who thought this way about vampires, but Eric had told me that there were plenty ofbad vampires out there in the world just as there were bad humans.

“I don’t think I want them anywhere near him.  If they hurt him in any way…” I couldn’t continue.  As my eyes welled up with tears, Charlie took hold of my hand from across the table.

“Hey, no crying.  Nothing’s going to happen to him.  He’s a big boy and can take care of himself.  Even if he were human, people wouldn’t mess with him as big as he is.  I was just saying that I’ve heard a lot of bad things about vampires, but your husband has shown me, when I’ve seen him with you, that they’re not all bad.”

I nodded my head, still unable to talk.  He’s a good man/vampire. Just then my phone went off letting me know that I had received a text message.

_E:  Are you okay?  Why are you sad?_

I knew that Eric wished that he could call me, but he was in an important meeting and could tell that I wasn’t in any danger.

_S:  I’m fine.  Talking to Charlie.  I don’t want the Fellowship people to hurt you or for anything bad to happen to you._

His response was immediate.

_E:  Nothing’s going to happen to me.  I’m careful._

_E: Are you sure you’re okay?  I can end my meeting and come and get you._

I did know that Eric was careful, even more so, after the shooting in front of Fangtasia.  It made me smile to know that he didn’t care how important the meeting was, he would drop any and everything to make sure I was alright.

_S: I promise.  I’ll see you soon._

“Was that your scary hubby?” he asked while laughing.

“As a matter of fact it was,” I replied with a giggle.  I wasn’t going to tell him that ‘my scary husband’ could feel everything I was feeling and was worried about me.  I think that would have only made Charlie more nervous about him.

“Are you ready to continue on your quest to find that scary husband of yours a present?” he asked me.

I nodded my head as I stood up, “How long are you going to call him that?” I laughed.  “Do you know how good vampire hearing is?  I’d stop calling him that before he hears you and you find out how scary he really can be.”

“I’ll stop.  I was only trying to lighten the mood. We can’t shop if you’re all sad and about ready to cry,” he said.  I could tell he was joking by the tone of his voice, the big smile on his face, and the raised eyebrow.

“You’re right. Thank you,” I said giving him a smile.

“Of course I’m right,” he said and nudged me with his elbow.  Unfortunately at that time I was walking on the edge of the sidewalk, Charlie’s nudge had me tripping over my own two feet and almost falling flat on my face.  Luckily, he was quick enough to grab ahold of my arm and keep me somewhat steady.

I looked up at Charlie and he had the funniest look on his face. It was one that showed he was shocked, scared, and found the situation slightly funny.  I’m not sure what the look on my face was, but when he caught a look at it, it must have been comical. We both started laughing at each other and the situation.  I almost fell over again from laughing, but Charlie kept his grip on me.

We were finally calming down some when we heard someone clearing their throat.  Charlie immediately let go of me probably thinking it was Eric, but when I looked up, I saw Bill Compton. Maybe he was here to ruin my night.  I stood up straight and looked at him waiting to see what he wanted.

“Good evening, Soo-” he started to say my first name, but stopped with the look I gave him.  Eric had repeatedly told him to address me as Mrs. Northman until I gave him my permission to call me by my first name.  Little did he know he was never getting that right.  “I mean good evening, Mrs. Northman,” he said with his jaw clenched.

[ ](http://i1.wp.com/gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/39b15203a45bbb43d97f3d10d24b45a6.jpg)

If he didn’t like it then maybe he should leave me alone and not address me.

“Good evening, Mr. Compton,” I replied, stepping around him.

“You may call me, Bill,” he said giving me an expectant look.  After a few moments of staring at each other he continued, “Who’s your companion?”

Looking over at Charlie and then back to Bill, I was slightly confused by Bill calling Charlie my companion.  What did he think our relationship was?

“This is Charlie.  We need to go and finish our shopping.  I’ll see you around,” I said and started to walk away.  I noticed Bill looked down to our empty hands and gave me a disbelieving look, but I didn’t care or think anything of it at the time.

Walking around looking for something, anything to strike me as the perfect present for Eric was seeming more and more unlikely. We had walked through stores and looked in store windows for almost an hour before I spotted something in a window that drew my attention.

[ ](http://i1.wp.com/gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/crosses-in-jewelery-store-window.jpg)

I saw jewelry shining in the window, but what caught my eye was a necklace with an anchor on it.  Pulling Charlie into yet another store, he let out a groan.

“Come on, Charlie.  It hasn’t been that bad.  This is the last store I promise,” I said pulling him further into the store.  He gave me a disbelieving look before he started looking at the jewelry in the case that was in front of us. “You’re lucky you haven’tbeen shopping with Pam, she can go all night and almost everything that she buys is pink.”

“Pink?” he asked looking at me as if I’d gone crazy.  “Why would she buy pink?  All she wears is black.”

“At Fangtasia, but when she’s not there she wears pink.  Even her car is pink.  Haven’t you seen it in the parking lot?”

He gave me a sideways glance and went back to looking at the jewelry in the case. “I normally drop you off in the front and it’s dark so no I can’t say that I have, but now I’ll be on the look for it. A pink car really?” he asked looking at me once again.

“Really,” I replied as I went to the next jewelry case.  After looking through most of the cases, I finally found what I was looking for.

[ ](http://i0.wp.com/gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/anchors-300x225.jpg)

Two anchors were on a platinum chain with each of them also in a platinum setting.  I stood there staring at it for a few moments before a salesman came over to ask me if I wanted to see anything in the case.  Pointing to the necklace that had caught my eye, I asked Charlie to join me while it was being bought out for me to look at it.

“What do you think?” I asked him.

“Um… it’s nice I guess,” he said giving me a side glance.  “Why that necklace? I thought you wanted to get something that would mean something.”

“It does mean something.  It means several something’s actually,” I said.  I started biting on my lower lip as I thought about a poem I had read recently. In the poem, it talked about sailing and although the first part of the poem seemed sad maybe even tragic, it made me think of the relationship that Eric and I have had since the accident.

After reading the poem that seemed to have made an impression on me, I used the computer in the office to look up sailing.  I had recently asked about one of the pictures that was in the office and Eric had told me a little about when he was human and the boats he had sailed on.

[ ](http://i2.wp.com/gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/longship.jpg)

One of the things that seemed to hit home was what anchors meant. I had read that they meant hope, a well spent life,stability, and faithfulness.  All these were what Eric was to me.   _Is_  to me. This was what I had been looking for and I didn’t even know it.  It went with the poem and it had meaning to me.  Hopefully Eric would understand what I was trying to say by giving it to him.

I informed the sales clerk that I would take it.  While I was handing over my credit card, Charlie asked if they could also gift wrap it for me.  As the salesman took Eric’s gift to the back for it to be wrapped, Charlie whispered to me, “With how much you’re paying for that necklace they should have offered to wrap it for you.”

“Do you think it costs too much?” I asked him.  With the necklace seeming so perfect I hadn’t thought about the price.

He shook his head, “No, but this is a nice place and jewelry is typically given wrapped.”

“When Eric gave me this bracelet it wasn’t wrapped,” I said as I held my arm up showing my bracelet.  This wasn’t the first time he had seen my gift since I had thought it was so thoughtful on Eric’s account to buy me something that had meaning.

That we had an eternity together.

“If you had your memory, you’d know that your bracelet is from Tiffany’s and the box is decoration enough.  Most women would die for a piece of Tiffany’s jewelry,” he said looking at me before he started to laugh.  “But you have no clue about Tiffany’s and you love it for what it is.”

“For me it’s the meaning of why he bought for me and that he was the one to give it to me,” I shrugged.

He smiled at me, “That’s what’s so sweet about it.  You don’t care about the brand, only the meaning.”

I nodded my head, “I hope Eric likes what I got him.  That he’ll understand the meaning of it.”

“There are many meanings for anchors and I can only think of positive ones so I know he’ll love it.  Most of all because it came from you.”

“You think?” I asked hopeful.

“I know.  That man will love that you went out and chose something that means something to you and got it for him.”

A big smile was on my face when we left the store.  I couldn’t wait to give Eric his present.  Charlie was dropping me off at Fangtasia so I could meet Eric there and finish the schedule for next week and he would take the car back to the garage.  While he was there, he would drop off the necklace.

OoOoO

I had been feeling Eric’s mood change on our way to Fangtasia.  It started off as slightly irritated, moved to disbelief, and now as I was walking through the front door I could feel a shift in him as it steady grew towards fury.  Pam wasn’t at the door, it was her night off, or I would have asked her what was going on.  Instead it was a vampire named Indira who had recently moved to Area Five.

I was becoming more and more concerned as I walked closer to where I knew Eric was through our bond. Not knowing what could have possibly made Eric feel like this was starting to scare me. He was normally indifferent while he was here, especially if we were apart.

My stomach dropped when I first caught sight of the cause of Eric’s ire.  Standing in front of him was none other than, Bill Compton. What was he doing here and what was he doing to upset Eric so much?

I only caught the end of their conversation as I walked up to the dais.

“Surely you’re not going to let your human make you look weak. You’re the sheriff and need to put her in her place.”

I had no idea what I had done to make Eric look weak, but I would never do anything intentional and he had never indicated that I had ever done anything to make him look bad.

[ ](http://i0.wp.com/gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/eric-northman-eric-northman-15837818-1024-576.jpg)

Eric extended his hand out to me as I came into range and as I passed Bill, I noticed his body stiffen slightly.  Eric pulled me up to his throne and onto his lap.  Once I was seated, he wrapped his arms around me bringing me flush against his body.

“Did you maker teach you nothing of what it means to be bonded, Compton?” Eric growled out.  Bill took a step back as Eric continued.  “If your maker taught you anything about being bonded to a human than you would know that I can feel  _everything_ , I would know if she was unfaithful to me.”

I let out a gasp, looking first at Bill and then at Eric.  Bill had accused me of cheating?  When he saw me with Charlie earlier, did he think I was cheating on Eric?  I was horrified with the thought of someone seeing us and thinking that I was betraying Eric.  Not wanting Bill to see how upset his accusations had made me, I fought to hold back my tears but just barely.

“It’s the furthest thing from my mind, min älskade.  Do not worry,” Eric said after feeling me through our bond.  He intertwined our fingers and placed a kiss on my temple before he looked back at Bill.

Bill looked at us in disgust before spitting out, “Surely you wouldn’t keep your bond open all the time, feeling all of her trivial human emotions.”

Eric went rigid beneath me. “I  _never_  shut down the bond with my wife and if you continue to speak of things you know nothing about, I’ll give you to Pam and let her have a little fun with you.”

Bill’s eyes widened and I was unsure if it was the threat of Pam or that Eric never shut down our bond.  I believed it was a little of both going by his reaction when Eric mentioned never shutting it down.

“I…,” he looked down for a moment and then brought his head up, squaring his shoulders. “Apologize, Sheriff.  I meant no disrespect to you or your bonded. I’m sure that I’m wrong in my assumptions about your wife.”

Eric’s eyes narrowed into slits, “You  _are_  wrong in your assumptions.  If you only came here tonight to spout out falseaccusations about my wife then you’re free to go.” His voice was cold and menacing as he spoke.

His tone had me worried as to what had been said before I had arrived.  I didn’t want anyone to think Eric was weak where I was concerned and the room was full of vampires tonight.  As I looked around the room, I realized that all eyes were upon us. Someone had even stopped the music, making it so that the only sounds I could hear were of my own breaths and heartbeat.

Bill continued to stand in front of us for a few moments looking as if he was searching for something to say.  I had a feeling his visit had not gone according to plan and he was looking for another way to come in between me and Eric.

We had our suspicions that Bill had glamored the woman who had hit on Eric, hoping that she could entice him away from me the night he was shot.  Although the shooters had been caught and interrogated, Pam hadn’t gotten anything useful out of them. All we knew was that they were from the Fellowship of the Sun, had come to kill Eric, and had been glamoured by a vampire so that we couldn’t get any further details out of them.

There was nothing to prove that Bill was behind these incidents, but after coming to Fangtasia with accusations of mecheating, my money was on him.  If he was here on behalf of the queen, I wasn’t sure what his goal was.  Until tonight, he had only been to Fangtasia once a week for his required visits.

He tried to act like a southern gentleman, that’s what Eric called Bill’s act while he was around me, trying to get information out of me.  It might have worked if I had been on my own and knew nothing about vampires, but fortunately I had Eric.  He had taught me to be wary of anyone asking personal questions about us, especially if Bill was the one asking the questions.

I was brought out of my thoughts of Bill when he gave us a slight nod before he made his way out of the club.  As Eric looked around the room, everyone went back to what they were doing before everything had come to a halt.  Although Eric had calmed down some, he was still quite upset and no one wanted to feel his wrath.

My body was being tilted forward for a brief moment before I was placed on my feet.  I felt Eric’s cool hand engulf mine as heled us off the stage.  His pace was quicker than normal as we walked out of the main room and into the hall, I struggled slightly trying to keep up with him, but kept quiet. We passed the office door, went straight out the back door into the parking lot, I quickly scanning the parking lot noticing that Eric’s car wasn’t there, but before I could comment, I was gathered in his armsand felt the sensation that I had grown to know as Eric taking flight.

Wrapping my arms tightly around his waist, I looked up at Eric’s face. Unfortunately, he was staring straight ahead and had his standard blank face of indifference on that he frequently wore out in public.

I laid my head down and started to rub my hand up and down Eric’s back as much as I could while in flight.  His only action was to cup the back of my head against his chest.  Other than that, we were quiet as we made our way home.

We didn’t live very far from Fangtasia and with Eric flying; it took no time at all before we were landing on our deck. I thought Eric would put me down once we landed, but he continued to keep me in his arms as he made his way toward the door and inside.

He continued to walk until he made his way into our bedroom and sat me down on the bed.  As I sat there and watched him pace the room, I was wondering what had upset him, that it was still affecting him. This wasn’t a side I was used to seeing and I wanted my Eric back and relaxed.

“Would you like to go downstairs and make a fire?” I asked him.

Eric paused his pacing, turned toward me, and blinked his eyes once before he spoke, “Are you cold?” A look of concern filled his face.

I only shook my head as I watched him start to move toward me.

“Then why would you ask me to make a fire?” he asked with his brow quirked up.

“I’ve noticed that it seems to settle you and I don’t like that you’re so upset.”  When he got closer, I extended out my hand for him. He looked down before placing his hand in mine and sat down next to me on the bed.

He gave me a small lopsided smile before he spoke, “It’s something from my human days that does bring me a sense of calm, but it’s not needed tonight.  I’m sorry if I worried you.”

“Can we lay down and talk about it?” I asked as I started taking off my shoes.  His reply was to take off his own shoes before he gracefully made his way up the bed and laying down on his side.

I crawled my way up the bed and laid down with my head on his outstretched arm.  My arm was around his waist, rubbing small circles on his back.  For a few minutes, we only laid there looking at one another until he brought his hand up to trace one of his fingers along my face and then placed a kiss on my forehead.

While we were laying there, he had calmed down to where I could only feel his love for me.  I closed my eyes for a moment as I relished the feeling and no longer felt his turbulent emotions from earlier.

When I opened my eyes, I expected to see Eric staring back at me and was shocked to find him with his own eyes closed.  Ireached up and traced along his forehead, cheekbones, and finally his lips which turned upright before he quickly kissed the finger that was tracing them.

[ ](http://i1.wp.com/gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/eyes-closed-only.jpg)

“Do you want to talk about what had you so angry earlier?” I asked him, snuggling closer to him.

Letting out a sigh, he brought me closer to him until his face was buried in my hair.  “I knew that when Bill was trying to call into question your fidelity that his accusations were false.”  I nodded my head against his chest.

“Then what caused such a powerful reaction from you?”

“Dear one, I never once thought what he was spouting was true.  It was the fact that he was calling into question your honor infront of over a dozen vampires from my area.  Trying to make me look weak,” he stated.

“Do you think they believed him?”

“I think that most of them did not believe him, but there may have been a few that entertained the idea.  They know there is some new dynamic between us lately.  We are not the same as we used to be. They can smell that you have not had any sexual relations with anyone else, but they can also smell that we have not been together in that way for quite some time.  That is something that would be very uncommon for us.”

“Why don’t you tell them that I’ve lost my memory?  That could clear things up.”

“Even if we didn’t think the queen was after you, I wouldn’t tell the vampires in my area.”

“Why?” I asked him.

“I wouldn’t want word to get out that you no longer had your memory and have the possibility that vampires would try to take you away from me.   I want to keep you out of as much danger as possible.  I don’t think we have anything to worry about though the vampires in my area are extremely loyal.”

Pulling back from me enough so that he could look into my eyes he asked, “How did your shopping go with Charlie tonight?”

“I’d say it was successful except for the part for when we ran into Bill.”

“You saw him?” he asked me.

“Yeah, it was right after we had finished dinner and a little bit after you had texted me.  I was still upset and Charlie was trying to cheer me up.”  A lone eyebrow was raised at my statement. “We were walking along and he was joking with me.  He gave me a slight nudge causing me to lose my balance.  I almost fell, but Charlie caught my arm.  I’m not sure what my face looked like, but his had the funniest look and we both started to crack up. I was doubled over laughing and luckily Charlie had kept a hold of me or I probably would have fell down from laughing so hard.”

I noticed a smile cross Eric’s face and the corner of his eyes crinkled up when I mentioned laughing so hard.

“That’s when Bill showed up.  I didn’t talk to him much.  I wanted to continue my shopping and told him so.  Unfortunately at the time I didn’t have any purchases.  I don’t think he believed that I was there to shop and I didn’t think anything of it at the time.”

“Why would you?  You were being truthful with him.  Did you get whatever it was that you wanted to buy?” he asked, curiosity flowing through our bond.

“I did,” I said with a big smile on my face.  “Would you like to see what I got?” I asked him, excitement lacing my question.

“Of course, I would.”

“Okay, I’ll be right back.  I had Charlie drop it off in the kitchen.”

Scrambling off the bed, I made my way downstairs into the kitchen to collect Eric’s gift.  I walked up the stairs and into our bedroom slowly. I was excited, but also apprehensive to give it to him.  What if he didn’t like it?  What if he didn’t understand the meaning of it?

Eric was sitting up on the bed with his legs outstretched and his ankles crossed watching me as I entered the room.  My headwas down examining the packaging one more time as I walked to the bed.

“Sookie, you have no reason to be worried.  Come sit by me and show me what you have,” he said giving me a smile that I come to realize was only for me.

I sat on the bed next to him and handed him his gift.

“You really bought me a gift?” he asked with another smile.  I could feel how happy this made him.  It amazed me that he hadn’t even seen it yet and was excited.  I nodded and told him to open it.

[ ](http://i1.wp.com/gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/erics-present-la.jpg)

“Did you wrap it?” he asked as he looked at the wrapping for a moment and then slowly started undoing the bow.

“No, they did it at the store.  I didn’t know you were supposed to wrap gifts. I told Charlie that the bracelet you got me wasn’t wrapped, but he explained that it was because it was from a particular store that didn’t require wrapping.  Are there many stores that you buy from and don’t wrap the gift?”

“Not that I know of.  The only presents I’ve ever bought are for you and Pam.  Pam normally buys her own from me.”

“Really? Is that how it’s normally done?”

He shook his head, “It is not, but you may have figured out by now that Pam is spoiled.  I’ve treated her the opposite of how my maker treated me.” He could feel my curiosity, but quickly stopped me from asking any questions.  “Tonight is not a good night to bring up my maker.” He gave a slight smile and brought my hand up to his lips for a light kiss.  “I will tell you some other time, but I’d like the rest of the night to be happy.  No bringing up things that are upsetting.”

I squeezed his hand slightly before he released it.

“Let’s see what you’ve gotten me shall we?”

With quick expertise, he finished unwrapping the small box and then lifted the lid before one of his fingers traced the anchors.  He took the necklace out and let it hang by one finger, smiling at me.

“Do you like it?” I asked, even though I could tell that he did through the bond.

“I do.  Very much so.  Why did you choose this for me?” he asked, truly curious.

“For couple of different reasons.  I had read a poem recently that for some reason struck home with me.  In it there was a mention of sailing and you had told me about the boats you had sailed when you were human.  I looked up some information about sailing and came across the meanings of anchors.  It said that they mean hope, a well spent life, stability, and faithfulness.  Another poem mentioned about ships anchoring when they are home. You are all of those things to me.”

I took his hand in mine. “You are my hope, stability, who I plan to spend my life with, who I am faithful to and I know that you are faithful to me.  You’re my home.”

Emotions swelled through Eric as I told him what the anchors meant to me.

“In the sea of strangers you’ve longed to know me…” he continued to recite the poem word for word that had inspired my purchase.

[ ](http://i0.wp.com/gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/anchor-poem2.png)

“Is that the poem you read?” he asked me.

“It is.  How did you know?” I asked, looking at him in wonder.

“I saw the book on the desk in the office.  Why do you think it struck home with you?”

“The beginning is how I believe you’ve felt after my accident longing for me to know you, wanting to be able to hold your wife, and the ache that you felt that she was gone. You’ve let me take all the time that I’ve needed to get to know you again andbecause of that, I wanted to buy you something that would hopefully show how much I appreciate all you’ve done for me, how patient you’ve been, and what you mean to me.”

I watched as he put the necklace around his neck and picked up the anchors looking down at them.

[ ](http://i0.wp.com/gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/eric-with-necklace.jpg)

“The ending is also true,” I said and he looked up at me.  “I have and always will be yours, Eric.”

I watched as his eyes rimmed with red and the biggest smile I had yet to see spread across his face before he pulled me onto his lap, crushing his lips to mine.

 


	11. The Loudest Words

Eric kissed me long and hard and when he finally pulled away, my lips felt swollen and tingly.  What affected me the most, however, were the feelings coming through the bond.  Closing my eyes, I rested my head against Eric’s forehead as I tried to catch my breath and absorb the happiness and love that were flowing out of him.  I had never felt him this elated before.

He pulled me onto his lap, our chests pressed tightly together as my breath steadied, and he held me as if he thought I would fly away.

“Eric,” I said as I cupped his face with my hands.  “I’m not going anywhere.”

“I know,” he replied quietly, nodding his head.

I leaned in planning to give him a simple kiss, but once our lips touched, Eric cupped the back of my head with his large hand and deepened the kiss.  Our kiss intensified until I was ready to rip his clothes off but, once again, Eric stopped us from moving forward.

[ ](https://gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/eric-sookie-4x06-sookie-and-eric-24197165-820-698.jpg)

Pulling away, Eric sat me back down on the bed before he gave me a small smile and took both of my hands in his.  I looked at him, questioning why he stopped us from going further.

“I’m sorry, Lover.  Your gift and words have left me unable to control myself, and if we had continued, I don’t know if I would have been able to stop myself.  I need a few moments to calm myself down,” he said with a pained smile upon his face.  “How about I tell you of a memory of us?  What would you like to hear about?”

“Are you sure?” I asked.  He didn’t feel out of control to me.  Was it only an excuse?  Did he not want me like that anymore?

He scanned my face with furrowed brows then asked, “What has you feeling this way?”

I moved to lie down on the bed since that was how we normally talked when we were in here.  We’d both lie down and facedthe other with only a few inches between us.

Eric reclined beside me, pulled my hand to his lips, and gave me an expectant look.

Not wanting to look at him, I lowered my head before I spoke. “You don’t seem out of control to me.”  I whispered, keeping my head down.

Letting go of my hand, Eric quickly wrapped his arms around me, pulling me closer until our bodies were flush.

“I’m very old and it took centuries for me to gain the control that I have, but you, my dear wife, can make me lose myself withonly a look,” he said with his mouth against my ear.  “If you were to feel how much I want you right now, you would be tearing my clothes off.”

I could feel his lips spread into a smile as they brushed against my ear lobe.

“So you’re blocking me from what you’re feeling for me?” I asked, getting upset.  He had told me that he would only block it if he were close to bloodlust or in pain.  Surely kissing me hadn’t brought him to bloodlust…

I felt him nod against my head before he responded.  “I don’t want you influenced by my feelings.”

I pulled myself out of his embrace so that I could look at him, but before I could reply he said with a sexy smirk, “At least not your first time with me.”

“But…,” I wanted to rationalize that it wasn’t our first time but before I got a chance, Eric shushed me with one of his long fingers.

“It will be a first for you,” he placed a kiss on my nose.  “Now what do you want to hear about?”

A huge smile flooded my face as I decided what I wanted to hear about tonight.  “I want to hear about our wedding.  I’m finally ready to know about it.”

We settled into our usual places on the bed before he started to retell our wedding night.

“You’ve seen the pictures around the house,” he said as he brushed some hair off my face and tucked it behind my ear.

  


 

 

“I have.  You know after you told me about us that first time and the pictures were still covered I was afraid of what might be under there.”

“What did you think was underneath?” he asked with a smirk.

I shrugged the best I could while lying down.  “Nude photographs.”

Eric let out a deep rumbling laugh that always put a smile on my face.  “I would never have the nude photographs I have of you on the walls for others to see.  Those are only for us.”

My brain stopped in that moment with his words.  There were naked pictures of me somewhere?  I must have been lost in my own thoughts for too long because I started to feel worry coming from Eric and him lightly shaking me by my shoulder.

Blinking a few times to clear my head, I looked at Eric and saw the worry that I had felt reflected in his eyes.  I gave him a smile, and watched as his eyes softened with relief.

[ ](https://gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/image7.jpg)

“If it bothers you that much I will burn every last picture.  You only have to say the word,” he stated earnestly.

“Do you have a lot of those types of pictures of me?” I asked worrying my bottom lip.

He gave me a half shrug, “We’ve been together for a long time.  It wasn’t something you were unwilling to do and they are alltasteful.  Nothing for you to be embarrassed about.”

A blush spread across my face and to the tips of my ears before I could ask my next question.  “Are there pictures of you too?” I asked, looking across the room instead of at him.

“Do you want to see them?” he asked with a smirk.  “All of our pictures are in the safe in the closet,” he said motioning his hand toward our closet.

[ ](http://i0.wp.com/gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/02/open-plan-bedroom-bathroom.jpg)

“No…  No, I don’t,” I said shaking my head.  “I may never want to see them, but you don’t have to burn them on my account.  I just don’t want to see them.”

“If that is your wish,” he said with his dazzling smile before he got serious.  “Do not worry, no one else has ever seen them, nor will they ever.  Just as my body is yours, your body is mine.  Our bodies are only for each other’s enjoyment, no one else’s.”

[ ](https://gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/eric5-la.jpg)

We were quiet for a few moments and I knew that Eric was probably visualizing each and every one of those pictures of me.

I cleared my throat to get his attention.  “Tell me about our wedding.  Did you want to get married the human way?”

“I never planned to get married your way.  I knew that at some point in my long life that I might marry a vampire, but that would have been for political reasons only.”

I couldn’t help it.  Jealousy and anger flared within me thinking about Eric being married to anyone but me.  I hated the thought.

Eric chuckled and wrapped his long arms around me.  “That’s my Sookie,” he said before he planted a kiss on my lips.  He pulled back before it got too heated.  “You have nothing to worry about. For the rest of my days you will be the only wife I will ever have.” He gave me a gentle squeeze before he continued, “I was only speaking of what might have happened before I met you and we married.  I always knew it was possible that one day my maker could force me to marry against my will.”

“You never talk about your maker,” I whispered.  I didn’t like the feelings that would come from Eric when he mentioned his maker.  I wasn’t sure if I wanted to know about him or not.

“I do not,” he said, his jaw tense.  “I didn’t have the same relationship with him as I do with Pam.”

“You care a great deal for her,” I replied, wondering how different he was with Pam than his maker was with him.  His only response was a nod of his head.  “Did you tell me about your maker before?”

He took a deep breath before exhaling forcefully, never once looking away from me.

“You knew of him,” he paused, looking over my shoulder and out the window for a few moments before his eyes settled back on me.  “A vampire must always follow any commands his or her maker gives them.  You know this.”  I nodded my head.  “I was not released from my maker until I was a little over three hundred years old and they were the worst years of my undead life,” Eric said with a sigh as he ran his fingers through his hair. “The things he did to me…” Eric paused, struggling to find the right words. “Everything he forced me to do – Sookie,” he looked away taking another deep breath before his eyes found mine once again.  “He found so much pleasure in my pain and destruction.  I— I never want you to know.”  His eyes begged me to understand.

“You don’t have to talk about it,” I said, shaking my head as I reached forward and cupped the side of his face.  “Maybe someday you’ll be ready to tell me.”

Eric started to interrupt me until I placed a soft kiss upon his lips.

“Like I was saying –  _maybe_ _someday_  you’ll be ready to tell me, and  _maybe_ _someday_  I’ll be ready to hear it, but that day is not today.  Maybe in a couple hundred years,” I stated once I pulled back from his lips.

“Yes, maybe one day,” he said taking another breath.  “We had exchanged blood for the second time.”

“When was that?” I asked.

“The night you agreed to marry me and be my wife.” He smiled brightly at me for a moment, almost as if he had forgotten hewas talking about his maker, but that smile soon disappeared.  “He had stayed in Europe for all those centuries and after that night, I felt him starting to move closer.  My happiness was something that he strove to see never happen, and he could feel that I was happy with you…that I had found my happiness.  He may have also been able to feel you slightly through the bond.  I didn’t know and I never had any intention of finding out.”

“Is he dead?” I asked scared that I might find out that this horrible man still walked the earth.

“He is no more. When I felt him getting closer, I knew that I had very little time before he would find me and I was afraid of what he would do once he found me.”

Snuggling closer to Eric, I tried to give him comfort. “What did you think he would do?” I asked.

“Command me to kill you, make you watch as he made me do unspeakable things in front of you, or even worse yet make me watch as he raped and tortured you before he killed you in front of me,” he said with his jaw clenched.  “I couldn’t let him take you away from me so I called a friend of mine who was just slightly older than my maker. I told him all that I knew and asked him to end him before he reached Shreveport.”

“And did he?” I asked, engrossed in the story even though I already knew he was dead.

“He did.  I owe him a great debt, one I may never be able to repay.”

“I’m glad we don’t have to worry about your maker anymore,” I stated with relief.

“Me too, Lover.  Me too,” he said before squeezing me tightly.

“What’s your friend’s name?  The one who ended your maker?”

“Godric,” he replied with one word.

“I’m sorry to bring up such bad memories.” I laid my head against his chest as I held his hand tightly in mine.

“You have nothing to be sorry about,” he said as he placed a kiss on the top of my head.

“So you never planned to marry a human,” I stated to get us back on a happier topic.

“No, but once I met and fell in love with you, I wanted to do the right thing by you, and that was to ask for your hand in marriage.  Never in my thousand years had I been as nervous as I was that night,” he said with a shy smile.

“Why?  Did you really think I’d say no?” I couldn’t understand why I’d say ‘no’ if I loved him.

“I was unsure of your answer.  There are many things that I cannot give you because I am a vampire…things that others could give you.” He hugged me tightly to his body while he continued.  “I cannot be out in the sunlight, therefore to be able to spend time with me, you had to give up most of your time in the sun, which was something that you greatly enjoyed.”

“We share that here in this house,” I responded.

“That is somewhat true.  We’ve only been here a short amount of time, but we can never have a picnic lunch by the lake.”

“I don’t care about that,” I stated, a little agitated that he was feeling so guilty over something that didn’t bother me.

“And for that I will be eternally grateful.”

“There’s something else that you feel guilty about.  What is it?” I asked when I still felt a large amount of guilt and fear coming from him.

I felt Eric slide his hand slowly down the side of my body, then felt his large palm press lightly against my stomach.  I looked up into his eyes where I saw immense sadness and regret looking back at me.

“A child,” he softly whispered.  “I cannot give you a child and one day I’m afraid you are going to regret that the man you’re married to cannot give you this precious gift,” he said and then closed his eyes.  Feeling his guilt, anguish, and misery broke my heart.  I kissed his closed eyes first, and then moved to kiss the corners of his mouth before placing a soft kiss on his lips.  I sat up beside him and cupped his face in my hands.

“I can promise you right now that I am never going to leave you.  Never.  If I want children one day, you will be a part of that process.  I don’t know – maybe we can find some distant relative of yours or… who knows what kind of technology will be around in a few hundred years and maybe they can do something to your sperm then,” I said with a laugh.  “What I do know is that you have nothing to worry about.”

“You can’t promise me that,” he said quietly.

“Why not?  Am I not still the same Sookie?  That’s what you’ve been telling me.  Did I not promise you this once before?  Did we not discuss this?” I asked, my voice getting louder and louder with each question.

His brows furrowed, Eric sat up and took a deep unnecessary breath before he spoke.  “Of course we talked about it, but it has always been something I was afraid you’d want later in life.” He looked at me with a deep amount of sadness radiating from him.  “Things have changed between you and me and I don’t expect you to live by promises that you no longer remember.”

“I’m promising you based on what I know and feel  _now,_ not by what I promised you years ago.  Can you not feel my sincerity?” Startling Eric, I jumped off the bed as a thought came to me.

“Is this because you no longer want me?  Have you changed your mind?” I asked as tears welled up and threatened to spill.

Maybe this had become too much for him, I thought as I paced the room.  Maybe he realized that his Sookie, his wife,was gone and that he no longer loves who I was now. I gasped as the thought took hold, and my body started shaking, as I could no longer hold back my tears.  Slowly I started sinking to the floor with the thought of losing Eric.

I had only just come to the realization that I loved him, and now it was too late.  A sob broke through as I let my body go, nolonger caring what would happen as my body crashed toward the floor.

Long, strong arms enveloped me and pulled me against a cold, hard chest before I crashed.  Eric cradled me against his body as he walked us to our bed.  Once he sat down, he rocked me back and forth while caressing my hair, back, and arms as he tried to calm me down.

After what felt like hours my tears finally dried, and I was left hiccupping every once in a while.  Once I had stopped sobbing, I could hear that Eric was humming the same song that he had hummed while we were in the bathtub together after he had been shot.

“Sookie,” he whispered soothingly from the top of my head.  His arms loosened slightly as he shifted my body so that we were face to face.  Eric placed a kiss on my forehead and looked at me incredulously.  He wiped the tears from my face as his mouth opened and closed a few times as he shook his head.

“My dear beautiful wife, I cannot even fathom how you could think such a thing.  I want you so badly it hurts,” he said pressing one hand over his unbeating heart.  “I’m never going to stop wanting you; loving you… Never…  I can’t even express how much I love you.  You can feel it.  You’ve told me it’s the best feeling in the world and I will wait forever for you to love me again. I’ll wait until the sun and stars burn out then die and still…”

His gaze moved to over the top of my head and out the windows.

[ ](http://i0.wp.com/www.gyllene76.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/la-eric-5.jpg)

 

“I will wait,” he said barely above a whisper.

“Eric,” I interrupted him.  “Are you afraid I could never feel the same for you?  Do you think it would take forever for me to love you?” I asked incredulously.  This time _I_  was the one not believing what was coming out of  _his_  mouth.

“I have not always been a good man, Sookie,” he said quietly, returning his gaze to my eyes.  “You don’t know my past sins.  I don’t deserve someone as good as you.”

“No, I don’t and unless you plan on repeating them it doesn’t matter.  I know you – the vampire sitting before me.  You are a man who loves me so much that he would let me go if it would make me happy.  You are a man who has been nothing but kind, patient, and loving toward me from the second that I woke up in this new life.  You deserve love.”

“I think we will have to agree to disagree,” he said giving me a sad smile.

[ ](https://gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/alex2-2.jpg)

“Do you know what I think, Eric?” I asked him.  He only shook his head as he stared at me as if he was looking into my soul.  My hands made their way to cup his cheeks and I took a deep breath.  It was time I told him how I truly felt.  I couldn’t let him think he was unloved and that he didn’t deserve it when I had witnessed for myself that he truly did deserve it more than anyone else.

“I think that forever is a long time to wait,” I told him.

“For you, never,” he stated with conviction.

I felt my smile take over my entire face as I felt the truth of his statement and his love for me.  What I wanted to tell him just added to my joy.

“It’s a good thing you won’t have to wait that long.”

His lips parted and his eyes widened.

“Sookie,” he asked, covering my hands with his own.  His eyes were hopeful, but I could feel that he was holding himself back.

“I love you, Eric,” I said softly, but it felt as if they were the loudest words I had ever spoken.

His eyes fluttered closed for a moment as if he were savoring my words.

“Tell me again,” he said, snapping his eyes open again.  I was almost knocked over by his beaming smile along with the floodof his happiness and love.

[ ](https://gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/close-up-of-alexander-skarsgard-in-what-maisie-knew.jpg)

I quickly straddled his lap and wove my fingers through his hair.

“I. Love.  You.”

His lips were on mine before I could return his beautiful smile, and my world disappeared.  There was only me and Eric, and nothing mattered but our love.


	12. Interrupted

I woke up to soft kisses trailing up my inner thigh.  At first I thought it was a dream after what had happened last night.  Telling Eric that I loved him was freeing,  and there was no way to describe how it felt when I saw the smile on his face after I told him that I loved him.

Eric kissed me with a passion I had never felt from him before. We kissed for what felt like hours before he slowly removed our clothes and made love to me for the first time.  It was sweet and reverent and everything thing a girl would want for her first time or second first time as the case may be.

I couldn’t imagine what it would be like to have sex with someone and not love them.  Luckily, I’d never have to find out.  I felt more loved while we were joined together than I had ever felt before.

I finally opened my eyes to look down and found Eric lying between my legs running his tongue along the flesh of my inner thigh. I let out an involuntary moan or two before I could even speak.

“Good evening, älskare,” Eric said huskily as he looked up at me. He smiled before dropping another kiss and moving on up my body, planting open mouth kisses along my body until he reached my lips.

He hovered over me, bracing himself on his elbows while he leisurely brushed his lips across my lips, jaw, cheeks, and forehead before he made his way back to my lips. The kiss was slow and sweet, filled with the happiness and love that was resonating from him. He ran his fingers through my hair and up my neck until he lightly cupped my jaw.

Pulling back to let me breathe, his gaze flitted across my face before settling on my eyes.  My hands made their way from his shoulders to his face as I traced the lines around his smiling eyes and ran my fingers across his eyebrows.

[ ](https://gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/06/eric-18.jpg)

“This is okay?” he asked stroking my cheek.  A look of uncertainty briefly crossed his face.

“Why wouldn’t it be?” I questioned him.  Confusion settled in as to why he was uncertain about his actions.  “Eric?”

“I don’t want to move too fast for you or want you to think that all I want from you now is sex, but I couldn’t help myself when I found your sleeping naked body tangled with mine when I rose tonight,” he said as he started kissing along the side of my neck.

“I wasn’t thinking that,” I said as I shook my head. “I wasn’t thinking anything at all.  Please continue what you were doing,” I said as I scratched my fingernails down his back.

Eric let out a purr as he licked, sucked and nipped down my body until he got down to my mound.  Burying his nose as he flattened his tongue, Eric licked from my entrance to my clit before swirling his tongue around and nibbling on my bundle ofnerves.

“Oh, God you’re talented,” I gasped out as the sensations in my body from his tongue overtook me.

“I told you,” he said after he lifted his head up and smirked at me.

My hands and body had a mind of their own as my hips arched up to meet him. I grasped his hair to pull him down where I needed him most.

Eric licked and swirled his talented tongue as his fingers pumped in and out of me.  Just when I didn’t think I could take anymore, he curled his fingers causing my body to arch off the bed and fireworks to dance behind my eyelids.

Once I opened my eyes they were fixated on the man above me. He had a gentle smile upon his face as he gazed down at me.

“Welcome back,” he said before he dipped down and caressed my lips with his own.  What started off sweet quickly turned passionate as his tongue dominated mine.

Slowly one hand trailed down my body lightly caressing until it came into contact with my bundle of nerves once again.  My mind might not remember him, but my body had not forgotten Eric and knew that this wasn’t enough.

I needed more.

I need to feel him inside of me.

“Please,” I begged him.  “I need you.” My hands traveled down his back until they reached his ass and pulled him closer to me.“Please,” I begged again once I felt his tip at my entrance.

[ ](https://gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/06/cropped-ass-la.png)

Painstakingly slow, Eric pushed his now throbbing cock into my slick heat inch by glorious inch. He stilled once he was fully sheathed inside of me as I let out a moan, feeling my body stretching deliciously around him.

After a few moments my tight passage was ready and Eric slowly pulled out until only the tip of his erection was still inside.  One hand came up to cup the side of my face before he slammed all the way in until our pelvises met.  Reaching up he laced our fingers together before placing our hands on each side of my head.  He continued to pull out almost all the way and thenslam into me until our world exploded with our combined orgasm.

OoOoO

“Are you okay?” Eric asked me from his spot on my breast.  He had been lying there with his eyes closed and his arms wrapped around me since he had stopped licking on the marks he made while he fed.

“More than okay.  I feel great.  My bones feel as if they have liquefied, “I replied as I ran my hand through his hair.  “Why do we do anything else?  Did we ever get out of bed before?”

Eric’s only response was to chuckle before he placed a kiss above my heart.  After a few minutes of quiet and enjoying each other through the bond he spoke.

“Perhaps we should go on a second honeymoon.  Would you like that?” he asked lifting his head up.

“Is that where you have sex non-stop?”  I asked, uncertain of what a honeymoon was.

“In a matter of speaking,” he said with a soft chuckle before getting up off the bed and headed to the tub and started the water.

[ ](http://i0.wp.com/gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/02/open-plan-bedroom-bathroom.jpg)

“Did we move here because the bathtub is so close to the bed?” I asked as I sat up and watched him adjust the water temperature. “It’s very convenient.”

“That it is,” he said with a sexy smirk.  “Will you join me?” he asked as he stepped into the bath.  “I think the hot water would be good for your sore muscles.”

Standing for the first time tonight, I felt what Eric meant.  Muscles I didn’t even know I had were sore.  It wasn’t too bad, but a bath would feel nice and I could snuggle with Eric some more.

Slowly I walked over to the tub and used Eric’s outstretched hand to help me in.  Once I was safely inside, I sat down in between Eric’s legs and leaned back inhaling the scent of jasmine and vanilla that he had poured into the water.

“Are you going to tell me what a honeymoon really is?” I asked after a few minutes of quiet.  Eric had been using his skillful hands to massage my shoulders and neck, but once I asked my question he wrapped his arms around me, placing his chin on the top of my head.

“Of course I will. A honeymoon is a destination-vacation that a newly married couple go to after they are married.  A lot of times they go somewhere tropical or romantic like Paris.  Although most of the time they rarely venture out of their hotel rooms.”

“What would be the point in going on vacation if you are only going to stay in the hotel room?”  This logic made little sense to me.  I felt Eric’s silent laughter before his lips skim the side of my neck.

“Because my dear wife they are doing what you had only just asked about a little while ago.  Their honeymoon is the first time they had spent any amount of time with their new spouse and they fuck like rabbits for the whole honeymoon.”

I turned my head to look at Eric to see if he was serious.  Although I could tell he wasn’t lying to me, I knew he could hold back if he was joking.

“Really?”

“Really.  Why don’t you lean forward and I’ll wash your back,” he said as he grabbed the black poof and began pouring shower gel on it.

“So… we would go on this second honeymoon to fuck like rabbits?”

“Mmmm,” I heard in my ear before Eric’s tongue flicked out and ran along the shell of my ear.  “If you want some time where we will be uninterrupted and have no responsibilities then that is what I suggest.  We will fuck like rabbits, I will claim you as my wife once again, but I will also make love to you until the sun comes up, night after night.  We can go anywhere in the world you want to go.  Would you like to go on a honeymoon with me?   One you’ll remember?”

Turning around to straddle his lap I saw what I also felt.  Sadness. Wrapping my arms around him, I placed a kiss on his neck before lying my head down on his shoulder and hugged him.

“I’d love to go on second honeymoon with you.” We were quiet for a few moments, enjoying our new closeness.  Well it was new to me.  “Eric?”

“Yes, Sookie?” he replied kissing the top of my head.

I squeezed his neck a little tighter before I confessed, “I wish I could remember what our life was like before my accident.  I don’t even want to remember for myself but for you.  I’m sorry.  I hate how hard this has been on you.”

“Sookie,” he said, pulling me up until we were face to face.  “Do not be sorry.  This was in no way your fault.  Do I wish you could remember all the special times we spent together? Yes, of course I do, but you have given me the most precious gift once again. You love me and that’s all that matters.  We can make new memories to replace the old ones.  What’s important to me is that you’re still here, still mine, and that you love me.  That’s all I need. I promise you.”

He said the last part while caressing my cheek.

“I do love you,” I said with a big smile on my face.

“I know you do and I love you.” He kissed me quickly in a passionate kiss that ended much too soon for me.  “Turn backaround so that I can finish washing you.”  After sitting back in between his legs, he asked. “Where would you like to go on for our second honeymoon?”

“Where did we go before?” I asked as I ran my hands up and down his strong thighs.

“Norway.  It’s a Scandinavian country and close to where I lived when I was human. We were married on the Winter Solstice which was December 21, 2009 and traveled all day to reach Tromsø.”

“Why would we go someplace that would take us all day to reach?” I asked as he washed my arms.

“They have sixty days of polar nights. So for most of the time we were there I didn’t die for the day.” Feeling my irritation at him for using the word die, he quickly retorted. “I didn’t  _sleep_  for most of our time there. I would  _sleep_  when you slept or go into down time.  We were like most newlywed couples.  Never had we spent that much time together, not because we didn’t want to, but because we simply couldn’t with the sunrise and our responsibilities.”

“That sounds nice.  Why don’t we live there or travel there more often?”

“We live here because I have a contract to be Sheriff of Area Five for the next twenty years. As for traveling, I think that is something we should try to do more often.  Your accident has reminded me how precious you are to me, that we never know when our time is going to end, and there are many things left in this world that I want to show you.  Tromsø is not having its polar nights right now and will not until November. I don’t think we want to wait that long for a honeymoon do we?”

“No,” I said shaking my head.  Getting away from our responsibilities sounded nice, and I didn’t want to wait another nine months.

“Do you have any place in mind or would you like me to choose?” he asked as he washed along my collarbone.

“I want to go to your homeland.  Can we go there?” I asked turning to see him over my shoulder.

“That’s where you want to go?”  My response was a short nod. “It will be cold.  Wouldn’t you rather go somewhere tropical?”

“Do you not want to show me where you used to live?”

“That’s not it at all. I want to take you somewhere that you’ll enjoy and that will make you happy.”

“I think I will enjoy going to see where you lived while you were human, and I want you happy too, so that is where we are going to go.”

“Whatever you say, my dear,” he gave me a wink.  “I’ll start making arrangements tomorrow night.”

“Do you think we could go back to where we went on our honeymoon sometime?” I asked him as he massaged shampoo into my head.  His fingers rubbing and scraping against my scalp felt heavenly.  “That feels so good,” I hummed out.

“I would like nothing more than to spend my days and nights with you where we once honeymooned.  We should celebrate our anniversary there, maybe make it a new tradition and do it every year.”

“I’d like that.”

Once my hair was done, I leaned back against Eric with my eyes closed, enjoying our new closeness.

“So you’ve told me about where we went on our honeymoon how about you tell me about our wedding.  We kind of got off track last night.”

“Yes, we did,” Eric responded as he kissed up and down my neck.

“Not long after we were engaged, we needed to make a decision on when and where we would get married,” he said with hischin against the top of my head.  “Well,” he said with a chuckle. “Pam was relentless on the when and where so we decided that we needed to make a decision before she took over.  She was very excited about planning a wedding and bridal shower.  She had read all about them from Dear Abby.”

I was about ready to ask him who this Dear Abby was, but he quickly responded before I could ask.

“She writes advice columns.  I don’t know why Pam reads them when she dislikes humans so much, but she loves to read them.” I could feel him shaking his head.

“We got engaged in early January and you wanted to wait until winter when we would have more night to be able to enjoy our wedding.  We quickly decided on the first day of winter and that led to the opportunity of having our honeymoon in Norway during the polar nights for a month,” he explained.

We had been in the bath long enough that the water had started to cool.  Eric didn’t notice until he felt my body shiver and I’d been too enthralled with our story to even realize how cold the water had gotten.

Eric’s arms tightened around me before he stood up, bringing me with him. He dried us off quickly and brought me my warm fluffy robe.

Sitting on the bed between Eric’s legs, he dried my hair with a towel before he started brushing it while he continued to tell me of our wedding.  Feeling Eric’s hands and the brush gliding through my hair felt wonderful. I closed my eyes and relaxed as I listened to his smooth voice.

I leaned my head against his shoulder after he put the brush down and placed the tail of my now-braided hair off to the side so that he could easily trail a few kisses along my neck.

“That felt so good,” I quietly said.

“Which part?  The sex earlier, the bath, my brushing your hair, or me kissing your delectable neck?” He purred.

“Mmmm.  All of it,” I replied with coy smile.  “But I was talking about you brushing my hair.  You’re very good at it.”

“It’s not the first time I’ve brushed your hair and hopefully it will not be the last.  I’m happy you enjoyed it,” he said before he dipped his head down and placed another kiss to my neck.

“Where did you learn to do that to my hair?” I asked, arching my neck to give him better access.

“Believe it or not, I used to have long hair and you would brush it.”

I turned around eyeing his hair.

He laughed at my examination of him.

“When we first met I had long hair.  Pam wanted to cut it and had been pestering me about it for nearly a decade so I let her,” he said with a shrug.  “You liked it short so I’ve kept it short.  I’ll show you a picture of it later and you can tell me which you like better now.”

“I can’t imagine you with long hair but what do you prefer?” I asked as I ran my fingers through his hair.

Closing his eyes to the sensation he spoke, “I prefer it short.  It’s easier to maintain especially while flying,” he winked and placed a kiss on the tip of my nose.

“Do you want me to continue with our wedding story?”

“Yes,” I replied with a rumbling stomach.

He gave me reproachful look before he stood up and held his hand out to me. “Let’s get you fed. I’ll build a fire while you make your meal and then I’ll finish our story.”

After making myself a bowl of maple and brown sugar oatmeal, we sat in a big white chair with an ottoman in front of the fireplace.

[ ](https://gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/06/fireplace-loft.jpg)

Looking down at my oatmeal, Eric scrunched up his nose before looking back up at me.  “That looks vile, Sookie.  How can you eat that?”

“It tastes good and it’s supposed to be healthy for you,” I replied before popping another spoonful into my mouth.

“You must be mistaken, that cannot be healthy for you.  It looks like it would get stuck in your body,” he said while grimacing.

[ ](https://gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/06/maple-brown-sugar-oatmeal-la.jpg)

“Hush.  You don’t have to eat it and I like it. Unless you can’t stand the smell of it then I’m going to continue to eat it.”

“The smell is fine; it’s just that it looks…  You can eat whatever you want,” he said giving my oatmeal another look.

Sitting back in the doublewide chair, he rested his arms along the top.  One hand found my neck and his fingers lightly touched and caressed as he continued.

“Back to the wedding.  We had been living together for almost six month before we got engaged.  You were living vampire hours and trying to do your job as my day person.  After a couple of months of trying to plan a wedding, spending time with me, and doing everything else that needed to be done during the night hours, you weren’t getting much accomplished.

“So I suggested that we hire someone to be our day person,” he said as he looked over at me with a smirk.  “You didn’t like the idea of not having a job and living off of me.”

Taking my hand in his, he gave it a light squeeze before he laced our fingers together.  “It was one of our first fights and I thought you were going to decide not to marry me.  We didn’t talk for the rest of that night or the next.  You even stayed upstairs in one of the other bedrooms.”

“What’s the big deal about me staying upstairs?”

“It was in our other house and our bedroom was downstairs in the basement.  Remember this was before the reveal,” I nodded.  “You stayed upstairs in a bedroom that I couldn’t stay in with you for the day.”

“Oh,” I said with a frown. “What happened to get us to finally talk?”

“Your Gran called you and she knew instantly that something was wrong.  When you explained to her what we were fightingabout, she explained to you that we would soon be married and that we would share everything.  You wouldn’t be out of work for long, only until after the honeymoon.  I had been trying to get you to work at one of my other companies for a while, but you refused. You were worried about finding a new day person that we could trust.  Alcide’s dad had recently come into a huge debt that I had bought out, so we hired Alcide, which is a story in and of itself. By the time I rose for the third night, you hadthought about what your Gran had said and what we had talked about previously about working for me elsewhere, and youwere ready to talk.”

Gazing forlornly into my eyes, he raised my hand and kissed my knuckles.  “I hate it when we fight.”

“Do we fight often?”

“No,” he shook his head.  “We rarely fight, but when we do, it’s…big.”

“With Alcide as our dayman, you had more time to plan the wedding.  You and Pam would spend hours looking throughmagazines and on the internet looking at wedding stuff.  Pam convinced you that it wasn’t possible for you to find  _the_  wedding dress in Shreveport, or in Louisiana for that matter.  She took you to New York for a week.  If you want to know what happened during that time you’ll have to ask her.  Neither of you would say, but I know that you found your dress.

“After you found your dress,” he continued, “it was time to decide on where to get married.  Of course Pam wanted the wedding in Paris, but you decided you wanted to have it at your brother’s place by his pond.  The house and land used to be your parents before they died.”

“Why did Pam want the wedding to be in Paris?”

“It had nothing to do with what you wanted; she wanted to go shopping there.  You were scared to tell her where you wanted itto be.”

“Really?” I asked him. I couldn’t imagine being scared of Pam.

“Oh, yes. Pam had her heart set on Paris for all the wrong reasons and she had been trying to convince you that it was where you really wanted to go.  I came home one night and you had been crying.” He shook his head at the thought. “I hate it when you cry, älskade.  When you finally calmed down and told me why you were upset, I knew I had to step in. I couldn’t let Pam strong arm you into what she wanted.  This was for you.”

“And for you.”

“I only wanted you to be happy. Nothing mattered to me except that you would walk down that aisle and say I do.”

“That’s very selfless of you.  I can’t believe that’s all you wanted.”

“I always want you to be happy, Sookie.  I only hope that I’m included as part of your happiness.”

I moved to straddle his lap, each knee on the side of his hips.  “You are what makes me the happiest,” I said before our lips met.

“And you have made me happier than I have ever been in my entire life.”

Our lips locked once again and our hands touched wherever they could reach.  Lucky for me Eric has such long arms.  When I needed to breathe, I rested my head against his shoulder and continued running my hand through his hair. I loved his hair. It was so soft that I never wanted to stop touching it.

Eric wrapped his long arms around me and once again tried to finish his story.

“I had to command Pam to let  _you_ plan the wedding.  She could help, but not badger you into getting what she wanted.” I felt him shake his head.  “She was very unhappy with my command and not getting to go to Paris.  Since she was going to have to take over all of my responsibilities while we were gone, I promised her that once we were back and settled in she could go toParis.”

“You really do spoil her.”

“I know and I’d spoil you too if you would let me.  Anyway, you arranged for us to have dinner with your Gran and your brother to ask if you could use his land for the wedding and if he’d walk you down the aisle.  Once that was all set, you ordered the invitations. I had no idea of all the things that have to be decided and bought for a wedding.  There were times when you wereoverwhelmed, but you let me help you when it became too much.”

“Like what kind of stuff?”

“There’s the reception, which is the party is after the wedding. We also had this on your brother’s land.  We set up a tent and had twinkling lights all over the ceiling.”

[ ](https://gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/06/tent-la.jpg)

 

 

“Then there were the food and drinks, music, flowers, place settings, linens, dresses for the bridesmaids, and the tuxedos for the groomsman and myself. I’m sure there’s more that I don’t know about.  I never knew what it took to plan a wedding.  You did a wonderful job of making our night special, and you were proud of yourself for not having to hire a wedding planner.  I had tried to talk you into hiring one so that you wouldn’t be so stressed, but you refused.  You told me you were only gettingmarried once and wanted to do it all yourself.”

“The only thing that I disagreed with was that you wanted us to stop having sex a week before we got married and that the night before we would sleep separately.”

“Why did I want that?”  That sounded like a horrible idea.  I could only remember the sex we’d had last night and tonight, but it was fantastic and if it was up to me we’d never a go a day without it.

“It’s common for the bride to stay elsewhere the night before the wedding.  It’s supposed to be bad luck for the bride and groom to see each other that day.  It’s only silly superstition but you wanted to uphold it. As for the sex part,” he paused to shake his head. “It used to be that the couple would wait to have sex until the night they got married.  You wanted to make it exciting and have some pent up sexual frustration for the both of us,” he said with a laugh.

When he caught the look on my face he roared with laughter, doubling over with tears in his eyes.  Once he stopped he asked me, “Why the look?”

“I don’t know why I would want any pent up frustration between us.” I shook my head with my eyebrows pulled together.  “During this last month and a half there were times I thought my body was going to explode if you didn’t touch me.”

“Dear one, I was only joking with you. You didn’t want any frustration between us; you only wanted the night to be special. Your thought was that if we continued to have sex up until then, it would be just like any other night.”

“Was it special?” I asked.  I hoped that if I had put a halt to our sex life, then it should at least have been worth it.

“The whole night was special from the moment I saw you,” he said with a beaming smile and a far off look on his face, the same look he got when he was remembering something from his past. “Of course I had the advantage of seeing you before most of the other guests with my enhanced vision.  You were so beautiful that night,” he said in an awe-inspiring tone.  “So beautiful, so radiant.”

He trailed the back of his fingers across my cheek with a small smile on his face.

“You looked just as you do today.”

“Not as I do today.”

“No, you didn’t have someone spend hours doing your hair and makeup, but you don’t need that.   You don’t now and you didn’t then.  Before your skin was flawless from drinking my blood and you haven’t changed a day since our wedding night with our final blood exchange and being bound together.”

“Thank you.  I guess it’s good that it was my wedding night and I was all groomed to perfection.”

“Yes, I think you would have been upsetting if you had to live with hairy armpits and legs.  You thought it was my blood keeping the hair from growing.  Never once did you mention it to me until we found out we were bound.  If you had mentioned it, I would have told you that was not the case, but it probably would have worried us a great deal.”

“It all worked out,” I said with a smile.

“It all worked out,” he responded back with a light kiss. “Your brother walked you down an aisle that was lit by candles with rose petals scattered along the ground. He guided you to me, and we stood in front of a gazebo that we had built by his pond.”

[ ](https://gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/06/gazebo-la.jpg)

“It was a pretty standard wedding to my understanding.  Your childhood minister was there to officiate the wedding and the only thing we changed was our vows,” with a slow smile Eric continued.  “We wanted to write our own.”

“What were they?” I asked with longing laced in my voice. I desperately wanted to know what we had said that night – what these two people who were so in love said.

“I held your hands in mine while you said your vows.  The whole time you were looking up at me with a beaming smile and tears running down your cheeks.”

_“On this day,_

_I give you my heart,_

_My promise,_

_That I will walk with you,_

_Hand in hand,_

_Wherever our journey leads us,_

_Living, learning, loving,_

_Together,_

_Forever.”_

 

“Forever meant a great deal to you,” I said, almost choking up from the emotions coming from him while he recited the vows Ihad wrote to him.  “It still does.”

“You have no idea how much.  At the time we thought that I was going to have to turn you, for you to be able to stay with me forever.  For you to choose to let me become your maker and to be by my side forever was something I had hoped for, but …”

I interrupted him, asking. “Are you disappointed that you will not be my maker?”

“No,” he said as he shook his head.  “I wish that your body were not as fragile as it is sometimes, like with the car crash, but what we have is perfect.”

“What were your vows to me?” I asked anxiously.

He chuckled and pulled me onto his lap, smoothing my hair down.  “Why are you so eager to hear what my vows were?”

“I want to know of your love for me back then.  What you wrote for me.”

Nodding his head, he cleared his throat (which I knew was unnecessary) before he spoke.

_“I promise to encourage your compassion,_

_Because that is what makes you unique and wonderful._

_I promise to nurture your dreams,_

_Because through them your soul shines._

_I promise to help shoulder our challenges,_

_For there is nothing we cannot face if we stand together._

_I promise to be your partner in all things,_

_Not possessing you, but working with you as a part of the whole._

_Lastly, I promise to you perfect love and perfect trust,_

_For one lifetime with you could never be enough._

_This is my sacred vow to you, my equal in all things.”_

“That was beautiful,” I whispered before I leaned in and kissed him.

“Thank you,” he replied against my lips before plunging his tongue into my mouth passionately.  His tongue caressed my own while his soft lips moved against mine.  Our hands tangled in each other’s hair not wanting the kiss to ever end.  Unfortunately we had to break away so that I could breathe.

While I tried to catch my breath I asked Eric to tell me more about our wedding night.

“Mmmm.  What should I tell you about it?”  He tapped his chin acting like he was in thought, but his mischievous feelings gave him away.  “I know –  I’ll tell you about when we got to the hotel and started our honeymoon.”

“You were lying on our bed in our suite wearing nothing, exactly like tonight when I woke up,” he smirked.

[ ](https://gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/06/honeymoon9.jpg)

“Eric!” I shrieked in embarrassment.

“I don’t understand why you’re embarrassed.  We made love only a couple of hours ago and saw each other naked,” he said gently. “You never have to be embarrassed with me.”

“Continue,” I said, taking his hand in mine.

“You were quite the seductress, lying there with no clothes on with your legs spread for me.  Calling to me in your best come hither voice.”

“What did I say?” I asked.

“You asked me why I hadn’t taken off my clothes yet.  There was no need for clothing since we were husband and wife,” he said as a big smile bloomed across his face. “You were trying to talk all sexy to me, but thought it was silly and you were giggling the whole time.”

“Did you take off your clothes?” I asked as I ran my hand up his chest.

“Not right away… Instead I leaned down over your luscious body and ran the tip of my nose across the soft warm flesh of your neck.  My hands cupped your firm, round breasts and lightly pinched your nipples. It was a little like this,” he said before he performed the very acts he had just described.

“I told you that if my clothes came off I wouldn’t be held responsible for my actions before I licked the pulse point of your neck, making your heartbeat steadily increase.”

Lifting his head until our eyes met, he continued.  “I groaned out that it had been too long, and then you interrupted by tellingme it had only been a week,” he chuckled while wrapping his arms around me.  “You were feeling our week of abstinence just as much as I was.  A week is far too long to not be inside your body.  I quickly pinned your hands above your head and ground my aching erection between your legs causing you to let out your own moan and letting me know how much you loved hearing me call you my wife.”

“I can imagine,” I replied closing my eyes.  “Tell me more.”

“I said, “Good, my wife. I’m going to make love to you with my lips, with my tongue, and with my hands”,” I replied with a kiss. “Your response was to arch into my body, bringing us as close as possible before I promised you that once your body shook and writhed with our love, that I was going to claim you until you didn’t even know your own name.”

“Did you?” I asked breathlessly.

“I never break a promise,” he said with hooded lids.  “Your arousal had saturated the room making my fangs ache with desire.”

Suddenly Eric stopped grinding his hard member against me and telling his naughty story.  He was frozen underneath me, staring off at something unknown.

“Eric?” I questioned.  I was worried.  Was there something wrong with him? I looked out the windows to see that the sun was down and there was only the pitch black of night.

“Eric?” I called to him, grasping his face in my hands. I couldn’t figure out why he was frozen. Panic started to overcome me the longer he sat there without speaking or looking at me.

After a few more moments his gaze finally broke as he blinked once and then looked at me with his brows furrowed and worry radiating off of him.

He stood with me still in his arms and started for the stairs.  Once we were in our closet he set me down and started to grab clothes off their hangers.

“Get dressed,” he spoke finally, handing me an outfit to wear before he left.

I quickly dressed and followed the bond to find him pacing at the front door.

“Eric?” I asked once again.  His worry was escalating as was my own. I had no idea what was going on, but I wanted answers and I wanted them now.

“Let’s go,” he spoke absentmindedly before he took my hand and ushered us out the door.

Not a word was spoken until we were in the car and on the road. It looked as if we were headed toward Fangtasia by the direction we were going.  I didn’t know why he’d be so worried about what was going on there.  Most of the time he wished it would burn to the ground so he didn’t have to enthrall the vermin anymore.

Reaching across the gear shift, Eric laced his fingers with mine and gave them a slight squeeze.  “I’m sorry.  I know you’re worried.  I don’t know what’s going on, but Pam has been sending me feelings of unease and distress for the last ten minutes.  Both are very uncommon for her.  Something has happened at Fangtasia.”

“Maybe I should have stayed home.”

“If it were unsafe I would be getting an entirely different feeling from her. I couldn’t have you stay at home and feel your worry over the situation, which I knew you’d do.  Also, my worry for you would have distracted me.  It’s best that you came.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m positive Pam would have sent caution if you should have stayed away.  Pam’s your friend and she knows what would happen if you were taken away from me.” He brought our intertwined hands up to his mouth and held them against his lips for a moment.  “All will be well, dear one.”

We pulled into the parking lot of Fangtasia, to our surprise there were very few cars present.  Normally by now the parking lot would be packed.  Maybe that was the cause of Pam’s emotional distress.

Walking in the employee entrance we noticed that it was quiet. Too quiet.  Not even the music was on. Eric grabbed my hand and sent his reassurance that everything would be alright.

Once we stepped into the main part of the bar, we finally caught a glimpse of Pam.  She was standing behind the bar, and I noticed she was getting a bottle of Royalty out of the microwave.  I knew she didn’t drink it, she always found someone to feed from at the bar or elsewhere.  We then turned the corner to see a young woman with red hair sitting on Eric’s throne. Eric stiffened at the site of her. She looked out of place here with the way she was dressed.

[ ](https://gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/06/040.jpg)

When she caught sight of us a creepy smile came upon her face.

“Is this my telepath?” she sneered, tapping her fingers against the arm of Eric’s throne..

Placing me behind him, Eric blocked me from her view.  “No. This is my wife.”

“We’ll see about that,” she stated as she got up from her seat and walked toward us.


	13. The Test

[ ](https://gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/06/qsa12.jpg)

I clutched at Eric’s arm as I peeked around him and looked at the tiny red-head who was stalking toward us.

“Eric?”  I whispered, my voice laced with panic.

“There’s nothing to worry about, min älskade,” he responded, still blocking me from view.

“Nothing to worry about?” she said, her lips curled back.  “I am your Queen and if I want to take her, I will and there’s nothing you can do to stop me.”

I gasped. I didn’t want her to take me away from Eric.  What were we going to do?  Tears started to well up in my eyes as I thought of what my life would be like without Eric. I laid my head against his back as I continued to grasp his arm, wishing this was all just a nightmare.

“Come out here, my prized telepath!  Let me get a good look at you!” The red-headed Queen demanded.

I slowly made my way from behind Eric to stand directly between him and this queen.  I didn’t know much about her, only that Eric had never mentioned me to her. He was concerned of what she would attempt to do if she ever discovered I was a telepath.  Now that it seemed I wasn’t, maybe she’d leave us alone.  I could only hope.

She walked around me as if assessing me. I could feel her eyes scanning each inch of my body, and it took everything within me not to shudder.  Finally, she made her way back around and stood in front of us, looking at me as if I was her prey.

Eric put his hands on my shoulders and brought my body back against his chest all the while sending enough calmness to me so I wouldn’t go into hysterics.

“She’s very lovely, Eric.  I can see why she caught your eye, but what I don’t understand is why you’ve never mentioned her.  Is this a new development?  It hasn’t been that long since you were in New Orleans.  Where was your lovely bride then?” Sheasked with barely hidden restraint.

“She was visiting with her friend,” he replied.  His body was rigid behind me.

“Why have you never mentioned her?” She said through a tight-lipped smile.

“I know you care nothing for humans,” he said and I felt him shrug.

Her eyes snapped to Eric’s and she stared at him for a few moments before she spoke.  “That is not true.  I care for this tasty little morsel and would have loved to have heard all about her. Now,” she said as her gaze set on me once again. “Sookie Stackhouse, how long have you been married to my sheriff?”

I turned my head to look at Eric, unsure if I should speak or not.  What if she asked me something that I should know and I didn’t?

He gave me a small smile and a nod to let me know that I should answer her question.

“My name is Sookie Northman and we’ve been married for four years,” I replied with a steady voice.

“Four years and we’ve never met.  Don’t you find that odd?” she asked looking around at the entourage she had brought with her.

They nodded their heads and grumbled their assurances that it was indeed odd that we had never met.

“Do you always meet the companions of the vampires in your state?” Eric asked as he pushed more calmness my way.  I wanted to leave.  _Now_. This wasn’t looking good for either one of us.

“No, but when one of my sheriffs has such a unique asset in his control, he should have given it to me. That is my right as Queen,” she sneered.

“She is not an asset. She is my wife, my mate, my bonded and my pledged,” he growled out.

Her eyes widened at the last of his words before she turned and looked at Bill.  “Did you know of these claims?”

[ ](https://gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/06/bill2.jpg)

“The first time we met he claimed that they were married, bonded, and pledged,” he replied.

“Why am I only now hearing about this?” she shrieked at Bill.  “Do you know nothing of a bonded and pledged pair?” she asked as she vamped over to him and slapped him across the face.  I watched as Bill flew backward into the bar.  He was slumped over slightly as he looked at his Queen.

I did not want to get on her bad side.  If she hit me like that, I don’t think I’d be getting up anytime soon.

Leaning down, Eric whispered in my ear quietly enough for only me to hear.  “Do not worry.  She cannot touch you.  If she did that to you, it would be a blood offense and she won’t risk that.”

Turning my head so that I could look at him I whispered. “I don’t like this. I want to go home.  Can we go home soon?”

“I know and we will as soon as we can. I promise you,” he said before he gave me a small kiss and wrapped an arm aroundmy shoulders.

“Isn’t that sweet?” the Queen said when she turned around and saw us.  “You may have made it so that I can’t take her, but I can demand her services.  Let’s see how well this telepathy of yours works.”

She turned and looked off into the corner of the bar.  “Hauk. Go fetch our subjects.”

From out of the shadows stepped a very pale, blond man wearing sunglasses.  All of his clothes were black and there was something about him that I couldn’t quite place…  He scared me…  This guy was creepy with a capital ‘C’.

[ ](https://gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/06/pb2.jpg)

I watched as he walked out the front door and disappeared for a moment before he returned with five more people following behind.  They all lined up along the wall across the room.

Turning back to look at the queen, I wanted to set her straight about my telepathy or lack thereof.  “I’m sorry, Mrs…,” I paused, looking back at Eric.  I had no idea what to call her.

“Your Majesty,” he replied before his eyes went back to cautiously watching the newcomers. “Despite what you have been led to believe, my  _bonded_  is no telepath,” he waved his hand at the people lining the wall and continued. “No matter the test you plan on conducting, I promise you, it will not yield your desired results.”

The queen regarded Eric for a moment before she narrowed her green eyes at me.

“Do you not trust your sheriff, my Queen?” Eric not so innocently asked.

With a forced smile, she looked back at him. “But of course, however, I wouldn’t be Queen if I didn’t take certain… precautions.”

We watched as the petite queen turned, walked up to Eric’s throne, and sat down.  With her legs crossed and her manicured nail tapping on the arm of his throne, her face became hard.

“Indulge your Queen, Sheriff.”

With no idea as to what I should do, I looked up at Eric.  “I don’t know what to do,” I stated with my brow furrowed.  What if she didn’t believe me and took me away from Eric?  What if…  I couldn’t keep the tears from welling up once again and this time I let them fall.

“Sookie,” Eric said as he wrapped his arms around me and wiped away my tears.  “Everything will be fine.  Do you trust me?”

“Yes,” I whispered.  I had trusted him since the moment I woke up from my accident and I wasn’t going to stop now.

“Let’s go sit down at one of the tables,” he said as he motioned toward one of the tables.

“Then what?” I asked as we moved toward a table with four chairs.

[ ](https://gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/06/image21.jpg)

“We’ll sit and …” he looked over at the line of people standing against the wall for a moment before he pulled my chair out for me and then sat down beside me. “Have each one come over individually and you can try to read their thoughts.”

“How am I going to do that when I can’t read anyone’s thoughts?”

Staring deep into my eyes, he shrugged before he replied. “Concentrate as hard as you can.  Do your best.  That’s all she can ask for and we can put this behind us.”

Eric looked over at the queen with a menacing expression on his face while she continued to sit on his throne with her nose in the air.

“Get on with it!” she commanded with a high-pitched voice.

It seemed her patience was running a little thin tonight. Well, she needed to suck it up because my nerves were about shot. I didn’t like the situation one bit and I was afraid of what was going to happen to Eric and me by the end of tonight.

Hysteria was starting to cloud my thinking before I felt a sense of calm once again soothe my fragile nerves.  Looking over at my husband, I gave him a small smile and sent him my appreciation for calming me.

He waved over to a small woman with blonde hair and brown eyes who was dressed in a white lacy dress that came down to her knees.  I noticed when she sat down across from me that her hands were shaking and she wouldn’t look me in the eyes.

[ ](https://gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/06/hadley2.jpg)

“Hi,” I hesitantly spoke to the shy woman in front of me.  “You don’t need to be afraid. I’m not going to hurt you and neither is my husband.” I looked over at Eric and he gave a slight nod of his head.

“I don’t even know what I’m supposed to do here,” I whispered to her.  “Um… what’s your name?” I asked her with a tense smile.

She gave me a curious look before her eyes darted toward the queen. “Hadley,” she replied with her voice shaking.

Not understanding why she was so nervous, I looked at first to the queen, who gave me a look that said get on with it, andthen to Eric who smiled and nodded for me to continue.

I sat and looked into the scared girl’s eyes with my face scrunched up as I concentrated on trying to find something… anything.  What did I find? Nothing.   I didn’t know how long I was supposed to continue on with this  _test_ , but the longer I stared, the more ridiculous I felt.  How long would this go on?

“Your Majesty,” Eric said, looking over at her.  “As I told you before my wife is not a telepath.  How long must she sit here?”

“Try someone else,” she huffed, recrossing her legs.  The tapping of her fingernails became louder and more insistent.

“Who would you prefer?” he replied with thinly veiled contempt.

“Quinn, let Ms… Mrs. Northman read you,” she commanded with irritation in her voice.

I watched as a large, bald man with olive-colored skin wearing jeans, a white tank top, and biker boots, walked toward us. His moves were fluid and smooth, almost hypnotizing. Whoever this man was, he definitely wasn’t human.

[ ](https://gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/06/quinn.jpg)

He wasn’t quite as tall as Eric was, but he was more muscular making him broader and thicker, a little too bulky for my taste.  Regardless, he did have one feature that stood out and held me captive for a moment.

His eyes.

They were purple and I had never seen anything like them.

No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t stop looking at him as he made his way over to us.

He sat down across from me and gave me a nice smile that didn’t seem to go with his tough guy image.

“You have the most beautiful eyes I’ve ever seen,” I blurted out. Embarrassed, I felt my blush quickly cover my face and move all the way up to the tip of my ears.

“Oh, my gosh. I’m so sorry,” I whispered.

“That’s alright,” he drawled out.  “I’m glad you like them.”

“So I guess I’m supposed to try and read you next.”

“I suppose you are,” he said, gazing at me intently.

“You need to move closer,” the Queen ordered.  “Maybe if you touch him you’ll be able to get something.”

I instantly felt an intense amount of rage hit me.  When I looked over at Eric, his body was rigid and his jaw muscles wereclenching.

I looked at him with wide eyes trying to portray my bewilderment at the situation.  His rage dialed down a notch and, in turn, he sent me caution.  I didn’t know what to make of it.  What was I supposed to do?  He obviously didn’t want me to touch this man.

_The were-tiger is not allowed to touch you unless he has consent from your bonded._

My eyes search the room as I tried to figure out where the thought had come from.  Was my telepathy coming back to me?  Why did it have to come back now at the worst possible moment?

_You’ve never lost your telepathy, young one.  I don’t know what has happened to you, but the shields that you had used to block thoughts from your mind are firmly in place and that is why you can’t read anyone’s thoughts._

A sharp pain started above my right eye.  A headache?  Now? I didn’t need anything else happening while the queen was here.

Eric reached over and took my hand in his. As soon as he touched me, the pain went away.  Much better, but why was I getting a headache?  Eric had mentioned that I never get sick, not even a headache, so why now?

“Get on with it,” the queen commanded.  “If you won’t touch him then I’ll have Quinn touch you, Mrs. Northman,” she sneered out my name.

“No one is allowed to touch her without my permission and I don’t want her smelling of  _him_ ,” Eric growled back.

In a move too quick for me to see, the queen had Eric pinned against the wall with her hand around his neck. Both had their fangs out but Eric didn’t fight her, he only looked at her menacingly.

[ ](https://gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/06/image35.jpg)

I stood from my seat rushing over to Eric when he called out to me. “Sookie, stay back!”

“Let him go and I’ll touch him,” I clenched my fists at my sides as I felt Eric’s anger. “I promise to take a shower when we get home.” I said to Eric. “I just want to get this over with.”

The queen cackled as she dropped her hand and stepped back away from Eric. I watched as her fangs snapped out of sight.

[ ](https://gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/06/image40.jpg)

Eric stood with his fangs still out, looking as if he might kill the queen at any moment before he slowly made his way back over to me.

He stood in front of me stoically but I could feel how much he hated this, how sorry he was for putting me in this situation, but Iknew he didn’t want to be a king. He wanted less responsibility in the supernatural world, not more.

“It’s going to be fine,” I said.  I reached for his hand and took us back to the table where we sat previously. He waited for me to sit before he brought a chair right next to mine and sat down. Everything about him screamed at how unhappy he was in thissituation.  His body was tense, teeth grinding together, eyes narrowed as he surveyed the room, and the bond was ripe with turmoil.

“Are you ready?” I asked Quinn.

He looked at Eric and waited until he gave him a curt nod before he reached his arm out across the table toward me.

Just before I touched his outreached hand, I hesitated.  With the feelings that were coming from Eric, you would have thought I was going to be electrocuted when I touched Quinn.

Quinn nodded at me and in his deep rumbling voice said, “It will be alright.”

“It’s okay, kära en,” Eric whispered in my ear before placing a kiss at my temple.

Placing my hand on top of Quinn’s, I jerked it back when they touched.  His skin was so hot compared to Eric’s.

“I’m sorry,” I replied to his questioning look. “Your body temperature is so warm.  It was unexpected.”

He gave the same nice smile he had given me when he first sat down. We sat there while I tried to concentrate or look like I was attempting to do something. I was really trying to figure out who I had heard previously and if they were going to let the queen know that I was indeed a telepath or used to be.  It wasn’t working and hadn’t since I’d woken up from the accident.  Maybe it never would.

After a few minutes, I heard the irritated queen huff before she got up and came over to the table.  “Let’s try someone new.” She looked between the remaining two men who stood against the wall for a moment before she decided. “Mr. Cataliades, would you please come over here and let the sheriff’s wife try to read you?”

“Of course, Your Majesty,” he said with a knowing smile.

[ ](http://i2.wp.com/gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/03/grayscale_tim_curry_desktop_wallpaper-other.jpg)

More pain spread through my head causing me to close my eyes until it went away.  I glanced sideways at Eric to see hisconcern and puzzlement.

_Normally he would be able to read your every thought, but as of right now your shields are impenetrable. This demon is trustworthy but most are not._

“Hi, I’m Sookie,” I greeted my new test subject after he sat down.

He nodded toward Eric before he looked at me. “It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Northman,” he said. “I’m Mr. Cataliades.”

“Nice to meet you too.  Do you mind if I touch your hand?” I asked.

“I do not mind,” he replied.  “We must do what the queen has asked of us.”

As I touched the demon’s hand, I tried not to jerk my hand away when I felt the heat of his skin.  If I thought Quinn’s skin was too warm then Mr. Cataliades was scorching. I definitely wouldn’t be touching him if I didn’t have to.

While I touched him, I scanned the room one more time trying to figure out who was speaking in my head and why they were telling me these things.

Everyone in the room was quiet as I tried to get a read on their thoughts.  It was absurd that she made me continue.  I had no idea how much time I sat with each person, but it was far too long.  My butt started to hurt from sitting on the uncomfortablechair.  I needed to mention to Eric that we needed chairs that were more comfortable.

Shaking my head, I pulled my hand back and looked at the queen. “I’m not getting anything.  I’m sorry you were misinformedabout me, but I can’t read anyone’s thoughts.”

She sat quietly with her eyes narrowed at me and a finger tapping her lips as she thought.  I was hoping that she wouldn’t ask me to read anyone else, especially the other woman who was still lined up waiting.  She was scary and there was no way in hell that I was touching her.  I had a feeling that each person she had me test was in some way different and I didn’t want her to have to come any closer to me than necessary.

[ ](https://gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/06/witch1.jpg)

_She’s a witch. A very powerful witch and you had better hope that Sophie-Anne believes that you’re not a telepath or she may have her try and cast a spell on you to tell her the truth, no matter what._

Looking away from the witch, I cringed on the inside from what she might do to me and because the pain in my head had come back and it was worse this time.  There was no way I was going to show that I was in pain in front of the queen. If she saw it, she might think it was from something I had read.

Once again, the pain was there and then it was magically gone. In its wake though was a great amount of concern coming from Eric.  I gave him a small smile and sent him my appreciation for taking away my pain.

“Lucky for you, Sheriff, it seems you were right; your lovely wife is not a telepath.  The next time you visit me, you will have to bring her with you.” She rose from his throne and walked up to Eric giving him a measured stare before turning and looking at the first woman I had tried to read.

Eric pulled me to his side, wrapping an arm around my waist. I laid my head against him as we watched the queen and her entourage start to move toward the door.  Bill was hissing something at her, but I couldn’t hear what he was saying to her.  He was obviously unhappy with the outcome of this surprise meeting.

“You are to leave her alone,” she said, stopping to growl at him. “She is bonded and pledged to another vampire. If I hear word that you cause any problems between the Sheriff and his wife, I will call upon your maker,” she said menacingly.

Bill shrunk back at her threat and kept quiet. I guess he didn’t have a very nice maker.  I hoped that her threat would keep him out of our lives.

Right before exiting out the front door, the queen turned around, stopping everyone behind her.  “Wouldn’t you like to know who whispered in my ear about your talents to begin with?” she asked in a not so innocent tone, tilting her head to the side with an evil smile upon her lips.

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Eric answered her.

When she looked my way, I gave her an affirming nod.  “It was Hadley,” the queen replied.

“Hadley?” I looked at the woman the queen had previously called Hadley and remembered that she had seemed extremely nervous, maybe even more nervous than me. Why would she tell the queen about me?  How did she know me?

I looked up at Eric to see if he would give me any sign at all that he knew this  _Hadley_ , but he gave nothing away.  The only thing that I received was more caution and calm through the bond.

Once again, the queen watched our every move, trying to find anything that was out of place and catch us in our lie.

“I don’t know why she would know or say anything about me,” I finally replied after a few moments of everyone staring at us and making me uncomfortable.  Looking at the woman who had spoken about me, I asked. “Have we met before?  Did we goto school together?”

Hadley stood with her eyes wide and her mouth hanging open.  “Sookie, how can you say that?”

“I’m sorry, but I don’t know you,” I replied honestly.

Looking up at Eric, I asked him if he knew her.  “I’ve only seen her a few times around the palace, but I don’t know her.”

Snarling, the queen grabbed Hadley and turned before leaving the building at vampire speed.  Bill gave us a look of disgustbefore he followed them out.  I noticed the guy who had been in the shadows glance back at me before they all left.

Once they were all gone, Eric crushed me to his body before cradling my head in his hands.  “Are you okay?  Do you haveany idea why you were in pain?”

As I shook my head no, a series of images and sounds flashed inside my head.

_There were two little blonde headed girls swinging in front of what looked like my Gran’s house._

_“I bet you can’t get as high as me,” One of the girls called out._

_“No fair, Hadley!  You’ve got Jason pushing you,”  The other girl called out as she turned her head to see a boy pushing Hadley.  He was taller than the two girls with blonde hair and blue eyes._

I immediately recognized him from my photo albums as my brother.

_“Nobody likes you, Sookie.  Not even your own brother. You’re a freak and everyone knows it,” The little girl named Hadley said._

Excruciating pain overwhelmed me and I screamed out, trying to bring my hands up to my head in an attempt to stop the torture; only Eric had me pinned against his body, clutching me to him as he called out my name.

The pain continued to amplify with each second that passed.  It was too much and I thought my head might actually explode if it didn’t stop soon.  Why wasn’t Eric taking it away? Please take it away.

“Pl-please,” I whimpered. “Make it s-stop.”

“Sookie, tell me what is wrong?” I heard Eric’s agonizing cry. It sounded as if he was far away, but I knew he was right there holding me.

“Eric,” I gasped when my legs buckled from the pain. “Help me.”  I cried out as another sharp pain ricocheted through my head causing me to cry out once more before my world slowly started to fade away until there was nothing there but black.


	14. Awakening

The silent emptiness surrounding me began to slowly recede, yet the horrific pain was still there, becoming more intense by the second. While my blood rushing through my body felt like liquid flame, my body was ice cold.  Moving was impossible and when I took a deep breath, I regretted it immediately as the thunderous pounding in my head became worse, threatening to drag me back into the darkness.

“Sookie!” I heard from far away.  It sounded like Eric, but what was he doing so far away?  “I need you to drink for me,” he spoke from a distance.

My lips brushed against cool skin before I felt something wet touching them. Slowly a thick, sweet tasting liquid made its way into my mouth. After a few swallows the sweet liquid was gone, and in my slowly receding darkness, I felt my body being carefully moved.

As my body became more alert, pain surged through my head once again.  My hands instinctively grasped my head willing the pain to go away.

“Sookie, can you hear me?” I heard Eric’s voice asking me in a seemingly echoing tunnel.  This time he sounded as though he was closer. Good, I needed him.  My only response was a moan as my head was suddenly cradled against his chest and thedarkness of my vision lifted to a veil of grey.

“Can you tell me where it hurts?  What’s happening to you?” he asked, his voice tinged with panic and fear.  I couldn’t answer. I couldn’t figure out why my head was in such agonizing pain.

“Please don’t let me lose her again.  I can’t… I won’t be able to take it if she’s lost to me once again.  Why isn’t my blood working?”

“Am I dying?” I whimpered quietly.  The vampiric gasp was loud in the already quiet room.

His arms tightened around me like iron bars, nearly to the point where I couldn’t breathe and just on the verge of becoming more than painful. I felt him bury his head in my hair before he whispered in a choked voice.  “Is that what it feels like, that you’re going to die?”

My head was in excruciating pain, but I was certain I wouldn’t die from it, or at least I hoped not. I softly moaned a ‘no’ and felt Eric sigh with relief as his body and iron grasp relaxed.

“You won’t lose me,” I said, barely above whisper finally daring to look at Eric despite the pain.

I was startled to see Eric’s face devoid of emotion as he stared at me. Even his emotions were on lockdown and the bond was a complete void to me.

[ ](https://gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/06/eric-3.jpg)

“Pam, we’re leaving,” he said quietly, but with sharpness that even I could recognize in my unusual state.  The Viking was not happy with this situation and he was taking over.

Something was wrong and I had no clue what. I flinched when another white-hot flash of pain tore through my head.

Why was this happening to me?

“All will be well, dear one. I promise you. Right now we need to get you home, make you comfortable, and I’ll take care of you,” he said with a tight smile.

Trusting my husband, I laid my cheek back on his chest and closed my eyes. I could feel Eric stand up and with a kiss to the top of my head he began to move toward the exit.  Once we were outside, he took off into the humid night sky with me safely cradled in his arms.

The further we moved away from Fangtasia, the less my head hurt. By the time we landed on our deck there was only a dull throbbing pain left.  I was exhausted from the pain and the stress of the night.  All I wanted to do was climb into bed with my husband and snuggle, but I had a feeling that something was wrong.

Eric’s face was still a blank mask and his emotions were still on lockdown as he walked into the house.  He went directly into the kitchen, grabbed a water bottle from the refrigerator, and then headed upstairs to our bedroom.  Sitting me down on the edge of the bed, he went into the closet and came out of it with one of his favorite t-shirts.

Standing in front of me, he carefully, almost clinically, undressed me before he placed his shirt over my head for me to wear.  He pulled back the blankets on the bed, laid me down, and then covered me up before he stripped off his clothes and got into bed beside me.

I wasn’t surprised he hadn’t spoken a word since we had left Fangtasia, I could almost see him planning different strategies at warp-speed flying through his brain. The moment he was in bed with his arms around me, I felt his body finally release the tension that had been thrumming through him since I had awakened.

“Are you feeling better?” he asked from where he rested with his head laying as close to mine as possible.

_“Why didn’t my blood heal her right away?”_

“I don’t know why it didn’t work, but I started to feel better a few minutes after we left Fangtasia,” I stated snuggling into his chest.

“What didn’t work, Sookie?” he asked, his question filled with concern.

“Your blood,” I replied confused. “Doesn’t it normally work right away?” I asked.  From what I had been told, it should haveworked instantly, although maybe not as I wasn’t physically wounded.  I’m not exactly sure what I was in that silent emptiness.

“Yes, it does, and I didn’t know what was happening to you. All I could feel was that you were suddenly in excruciating pain and that I had been taking the pain from you throughout the night.”

_“Why wasn’t I able to pinpoint where her pain was coming from?”_

“Can you normally tell where I’m hurt?” I asked, wondering why he was talking so strangely.  His body tensed up once again and his arms tightened around me for a moment.

“Normally I can tell the exact location of your injury.  If you stub your toe, I know which toe it was that you stubbed.  Earlier I felt it throughout my whole body. Tell me what happened to you, what hurt.”

“I’m not sure what happened,” I said, pulling back to look at him.  “It started when the queen ordered me to touch Quinn.”

“What started?  The pain?”  His cerulean eyes bore into mine with an intensity to solve this mystery as quickly as possible

“It wasn’t at that moment.  I heard a voice in my head telling me that Quinn is a were-tiger and he isn’t allowed to touch me unless he has your permission. Is that what he is?”

“Yes,” he said sternly.  “Is that when the pain started?”

“No, it was after he told me that I had never lost my telepathy; that my shields are what have been blocking me from reading people.” As I finished my statement I saw Eric’s eyebrow arch as he fired questions at me.

“He knew that you’re a telepath?  What else did he say?  You’re sure that it was a man?  Did he sound close or far away?  Was his tone menacing or informative?”

“It sounded like a man, but I’m not sure who. I tried to look around and not give myself away.  I knew it would be bad if the queen thought I was hearing anyone’s thoughts.”

“You gave nothing away, dear one. I can feel every emotion you have and yet I knew nothing of what you were going through besides the pain.”

“Speaking of emotions, why are you blocking me?  There’s something wrong.  What is it? Did the queen hurt you?” I asked. He was acting strangely and he had promised me he wouldn’t block his emotions from me unless he was going through bloodlust.  I knew that wasn’t the case here.

Eric looked down at me and scoffed, “The only way the queen could ever hurt me is if she hurt you in any way.  I am not hurt. You don’t need to worry about me.  We need to figure out what happened to you.”

“So if I was feeling you right now I’d be worried about you?”

Slowly I felt his emotions coming back to me. First, I felt his eternal love for me.  It put a smile upon my face until I felt the rest of the following emotions.  My smile faded as I felt his worry, fear, concern, and protectiveness.

“Eric, I feel much better now,” I said, tightening my grip on him. I wanted to reassure him that I was fine for now and nothing would happen to me.  “Really, I’m okay.  Please, I don’t want you to feel this way.”

“Seeing and feeling you in pain… I… I didn’t know what was happening to you.  There was no outside cause for your pain, but I was able to take your pain away every time it came back.  Was there something that triggered it each time it returned?”

“Every time I heard the voice in my head the pain came back and each time it became more painful.”

“Was there anything different when the pain became unbearable and I couldn’t take it away?” he asked with regret.

“I don’t know what it was,” I replied, thinking about what had happened. “I’m not sure if it was a memory or something that was sent to me.  It didn’t seem like a memory,” I paused thinking about it once again.  “It had Hadley and Jason in it.  We were swinging and she said that I couldn’t go as high as she could, but Jason was pushing her. I looked back and saw him. He looked exactly like I’ve seen from the photo albums when he was young.  Then she said that no one liked me because I was a freak.  It ended there and that’s when the pain started to become more intense by the second.”

Eric quickly moved to place himself above me, holding himself up by his elbows.  “You are  _not_  a freak,” he growled as his eyes almost glowed with his conviction.

“I’m certainly not normal,” I said. Even without my telepathy, I wasn’t an average twenty-six-year-old woman. I had a vampire for a husband who was a thousand-years-old and I could feel his every emotion, except when he blocked me, and he could feel mine.  We were bound together for an eternity.  I didn’t think there were many humans, vampires, or fairies who could say the same.  I wasn’t feeling sorry for myself though. I knew what I had and how lucky I was to have Eric in my life and that he loved me more than anything.

“Normal is overrated,” he said with a small smile before he leaned down to brush his lips lightly over mine.

I closed my eyes enjoying the feel of his body’s weight against mine making me feel safe and secure, and the taste of his lips.  I loved the taste of every single inch of him.

It wasn’t long before he pulled back with a smirk on his face. “We can’t get distracted right now,” he said, and then let out a sigh when I stuck my bottom lip out and pouted.  I wanted him and wanted to get lost in our own little world, and forget about what had happened tonight.

[ ](https://gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/06/kiss-1.jpg)

He peppered kisses all over my face before he made his way back to my mouth where he sucked on my bottom lip.  He nipped at it with his blunt teeth before he plunged his tongue into my waiting mouth, stealing my breath away.

“You know I want you; I always want you, but we need to figure out what happened tonight.  We need to know who was talking to you and if your telepathy or memories are coming back.  We can’t hide from this and it’s better to figure it out now than later be blindsided.  Who knows what could happen tomorrow night?  I also know you’re exhausted.  Let’s lie down, relax, and try to figure out what happened.”

Tears welled up in my eyes when I tried to answer any one of his questions and couldn’t.  I had no idea what had happened to me earlier, but I knew that I didn’t like it.  If the queen ever found out that I had even heard the slightest little thing, she would be relocating Eric and me to New Orleans to live in a fish bowl.

“Please don’t cry.  I can’t stand it when you cry,” Eric pleaded with me as he softly kissed my forehead.  “Why are you about to cry? Sookie, I wasn’t rejecting you, I promise you.  Figuring all of this out is also important.”

“It’s not the rejection. It’s that I have no answers to any of your questions,” I stated grimly.

“That’s no reason to be so sad.  I’m always here for you.  _Always._  We’ll work through this together.  The simplest one is if you have any of your memories back.  Do you remember anything from before the accident?” he asked as he lay down beside me, his eyes roaming over my face.

“No,” I replied.

“See that was easy,” he said, but I knew he had a small hope that maybe I had remembered something and that there may still be a possibility that I would get my memories back.  “What you saw earlier, you don’t think it was a memory?”

“No,” I shook my head. “I think it was a memory of Hadley’s, if that makes sense.”

“None of this particularly makes any sense, but you’ve always been smart and you know what you saw and heard. If you don’t think it was a memory, then it wasn’t a memory.”

“Are you disappointed?” I asked quietly as my heart waited in anticipation.

“Of course not, Sookie,” he responded immediately, taking my hands in his and kissing my knuckles.  “I’m worried about you.  I don’t want you to have to go through that pain ever again and we need to know who caused it.”

“How are we going to do that? I don’t think anyone is going to willingly tell us that they were sending me their thoughts,” I said, now exasperated.

“They may not want to tell us willingly, but I have my ways of getting information out of anyone I want,” he said seriously.

“What are you going to do? Kidnap and torture everyone who came with the queen? Won’t it seem a little suspicious when each person comes up missing?”

“I don’t really care what it seems like as long as we find out who it was that was talking to you.  They could tell the queen they know of your telepathy to gain favor with her. I can’t let that happen.  I will do whatever it takes to keep you safe.”

“If this person knew I was a telepath and wanted to tell the queen, wouldn’t they have come out with it tonight?” I questioned.

“We can’t take the chance that they could go to the queen with their information,” he said, imploring me to agree with him.

“I thought I did a good job of convincing her that I’m not a telepath. Well, either I did or I didn’t.  If I did, then she’s not going to believe that all of a sudden I’ve got telepathy.”

“You’re right.  I was letting my worry for you get the best of me. There were not that many individuals there.  You said that it wasa man,” I nodded my head.  “The only men there tonight were Bill, Quinn, the human male you didn’t read, Mr. Cataliades, and the vampire who brought everyone in.

“We can exclude Bill.  If he was capable of doing what happened tonight, I believe he would have done it before now,” Eric stated.

“I think you’re right and I hope that he will be out of our lives from now on.  He’s creepy and I don’t want to be around anymore. I don’t think it was Quinn or Mr. Cataliades either.  That leaves the vampire and the human.  Whoever it was told me that Quinn is a were-tiger and that Mr. Cataliades is demon.  He also told me the other woman was a powerful witch. I was so happy that I didn’t have to touch her…,” I shivered from the thought, “She’s scarier than the queen.”

Eric laughed and shook the whole bed with it, putting a smile on my face.  “There’s nothing scary about the queen.  She’s a spoiled child who’s used to getting what she wants, but she’s half my age, and, if I wanted to, I could kill her easily.  She knows that I let her rule this state because I don’t want to be the king.  My Area is the most profitable and I have no problem with the vampires here, so I am left alone to do as I wish.”

“She’s not scary to you, but she is to me.  The thought that she could take me away from you…”

Eric interrupted me, “She cannot take you away from me, not ever.  We are pledged by vampire law, married by human law, and we are blood bonded.  She knows she would meet the true death if she even attempted to take you.”

“She could make you leave your Area and move to hers while I was made to work for her.  She could make our lives miserable,” I explained as the fishbowl life flashed through my mind’s eye again.

“True, but it wouldn’t be very smart of her if she wants to live.  Let me worry about the queen.  Now I want you to try something,” he said, sitting up on the bed, bringing me with him.

“I’ll do whatever you want,” I replied.

He gave me a small smile that normally put a smile on my own face.  Eric had such a beautiful smile.  It was the nervousness that I felt coming from him that had me worried.

“I want you to concentrate on me and see if you can find my void,” he said. He moved his body away from mine so we weren’t touching.

It only took a second for me to find his void and I let out a gasp.  I wasn’t sure if this was a good thing or a bad thing.

“You found me?” he asked.  I could only nod my confirmation.  “It’s okay.  Now I want you to try to see if you can read my thoughts.”

“You said I had never been able to read you,” I stated, confused as a little fear began to grow through my body.  “Why do you want me to try now?”

“Try for me,” he stated seriously before his look softened.  “Please.”

“Okay. I’ll try,” I said apprehensively.

_I love you, Sookie.  Everything’s going to be fine. I promise you. Just remember that I love you._

“I love you too, Eric,” I answered him from his thoughts.  He reached out, grasping a hold of me, pulling me into his lap, before wrapping his arms around me, and placing a kiss on my forehead before I could panic.  “You knew I’d be able to read you,” I stated.

“Yes,” he grimly replied.  “You have answered a few of my unspoken thoughts tonight.”

“Then why haven’t I been hearing you this whole time.  Why can’t I hear you now?” I asked.  This was not good news.  What if I could hear any vampire?  I knew that would be bad.

“I’ve been blocking you.  I can stop if you want me too.”

I concentrated around the building and found no one else.  Why were there no thoughts?  The only thing I found was Eric’svoid. Why could I now hear him?

Tilting my head to the side and concentrating I said, “Why can’t I hear anyone else?  There are no other voids.  Nothing.”

“I’m sure all the other vampires that live in this building are out for the night, and Amelia placed a spell on our apartment when we first moved in so that you would not have to have your shields up all the time when you’re at home.  You wanted to be able to relax and asked her if it was possible before you bought this place.  It would have been too much for you otherwise with all people around.”

“Why could I hear you then?”

“We were touching all but once when you heard me.  The last time I tried to send my thoughts to you since I knew you shouldn’t be able to hear me with the spell in place.”

“Do you think I can hear all vampires or only you?” I asked with a shaky voice.

“It’s hard to say since we don’t really know what happened to bring your telepathy back.  Tomorrow night we will meet Pam somewhere so that we can test it on her.  I can command her to never speak of it if you can read her.”

“Why would you have to command her?” I asked. Pam and I were close.  We were not as close as we were before my accident but still I didn’t think she would tell anyone about my telepathy.

“It’s only a precaution.  Vampires will do anything to get the information that they want. Pam is very strong, but even she might break with enough torture,” he said gravely.

“I don’t want Pam to be tortured so they can get information about me,” I said, covering my mouth with my hands.  The thoughtof someone torturing her made me sick to my stomach.

“Neither do I and only an ill-advised vampire would even attempt.  As I said, I will only command her as a precaution.  You need not worry; my age and reputation protect you both.”

“Who’s going to protect you?”  I asked him as he settled us to lie back down.

He placed a kiss on the tip of my nose and then pulled back with a smile on his face.  “You’re worried about me?” he asked in fascination as he grinned a little boy smile only I ever got to see.

[ ](https://gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/06/eric-4.jpg)

“Why wouldn’t I be worried about you? I love you and don’t want anything to happen to you.”

“I still cannot get over the fact that you worry about me.  You always have, but it’s unnecessary.”

“I think it’s necessary.  You need someone looking out for you just like you look out for me, Pam, and all the other vampires in your Area.”

“I guess it can’t hurt,” he said before his lips melded to mine.  His tongue brushed along the seam of my lips waiting for entrance.  I couldn’t deny him anything and I eagerly opened to let him in. Caressing my tongue with his, he moved to lay on top of me grinding his erection into my core.  Pulling back, he spoke,

“Thank you for taking care of me, worrying about me, and loving me. I don’t know what I did in my lifetime to ever deserve you, but I thank the Gods every day for bringing you into my life,” he proclaimed in a fervent whisper before his mouth crashed back onto mine, devouring me as if it were our last moment together.

He released my lips to let me breath, kissing and licking down my neck.  “I feel the same way about you, Eric.  I don’t think anyone else would have been as patient as you were with me.  To give me the time I needed to adjust and to love you again.”

Lifting his head, he looked up at me. “I’d do anything for you,” he exclaimed, taking my lips once again in a passionate kiss.

Ripping the shirt from my body, he licked and nibbled his way down to my breast where he sucked and nipped until they were both tight pebbles.  My hands roamed over his wide shoulders and down his back feeling each muscle flex with my touch until I reached his glorious ass.

Eric quickly rolled onto his back pulling me on top of him.  His hands cupped my heaving breasts as he eyes glowed with his love.  My hips rose and I slowly impaled myself on his steel shaft.

We both groaned as our bodies connected.  We made love with fierce intensity, thoughts full of how our night could have ended.

[ ](https://gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/06/couple-embracing-in-bed-1.jpg)

I cried out his name and scratched my fingernails down his chest as I came in wave after wave of intense flowing pleasure.   Eric sat up, pulling a nipple into his mouth as he bit, causing another orgasm to fire through me.  I felt him shudder as he joined me in his release.

Eric laid me back against the bed and snuggled up behind me, entwining our hands before he whispered in my ear.  “Sleep now, you’ve had a demanding night, min vackra fru.”

OoOoO

I woke up to something skimming along my neck tickling me.  I slowly turned to see Eric with a sheepish grin on his face before he went back to trailing his nose along my neck.

“I’m sorry to wake you, min älskare, but you smell divine and I couldn’t help myself,” he said hoarsely.

“Did I sleep all day?” I asked as I stretched my body.

“You did.  I’m afraid the events of last night were too much for you and you need to recover.  How are you feeling?”

“I feel great,” I said and then my stomach rumbled, “but I’m a little hungry.”

“Why don’t you take a quick shower and I’ll make you something to eat?” he said sitting up and walking toward the closet to get dressed.

[ ](http://i1.wp.com/gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/02/eric-naked.gif)

Seeing him naked made me want to do other things besides shower and eat.  Feeling my flare of lust, Eric turned around and gave a mischievous grin.  “Later, lover.”

I quickly took a shower and got dressed before I met Eric in the kitchen where he had a bowl of oatmeal waiting for me.

  
[ ](http://i2.wp.com/gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/02/cuisine-loft-2.jpg)

Kitchen

“You must really love me if you made me oatmeal.  I know you think it’s disgusting,” I said before I ate my first spoonful.

He shrugged as he leaned his hip on the counter. “What I think doesn’t matter.  You like it and it’s easy to make.”

I giggled as I placed the spoon back into the bowl.

“Is that why you made it? Because it’s easy?”

“I made it because it’s easy and you like it.  Win-Win,” he replied.

I was washing out my bowl when I noticed Eric zipped out of the room and then just as quickly he returned with his phone to his ear speaking quickly to whomever was on the other end.

[ ](https://gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/06/vampireeric1-phone.jpg)

 

“He wouldn’t say who he is?” he asked the person on the other line.  “We can’t meet at Fangtasia; it needs to be someplace secluded.” He was quiet for a moment. “I’ll explain later.  Do you think it’s a trap?”

Hearing that definitely caught my attention.

“I want you to be close, but not too close in case we need you. Tell him when he calls that we will meet him in thirty minutes and give him the location,” he said before he ended the call.

“What’s going on?” I asked warily.

“Someone called Fangtasia saying that he needed to meet with you and that he knows what happened to you last night.  We can’t meet at Fangtasia or anywhere else with a great deal of people until you get your shields under control.  We are certainly not inviting an unknown person here.  Pam suggested your farmhouse in Bon Temps so we are meeting him there.  The farmhouse is warded against ill intent and has a privacy spell on it.  If he means us no harm, then he will be able to get past the wards and no one will be able to hear what we discuss.  Pam will be waiting in the cemetery just in case.  Go get your shoes,”he said, swatting my behind.

“You really think it will be safe?”

“You wouldn’t be going if I didn’t.”

OoOoO

It didn’t take us long to get to Bon Temps and no matter what Eric said I was still worried about meeting this mystery man.  We pulled up to the farmhouse that I had only been to once before. Eric had brought me here a few weeks after my accident.

[ ](https://gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/06/sookie-house.jpg)

Eric could feel Pam in the cemetery, and we saw there was a shadowy figure on the porch waiting for us.

“If he’s made it onto the porch the wards have recognized that he has no intention to harm you,” he whispered in my ear.

I got out of the car slowly, keeping my eyes on the figure that hadn’t moved since our arrival.  I took Eric’s arm and wrapped my hands around it as we walked toward the house.

Once we got onto the porch, the security light came on and I was surprised to see who our mystery caller had been; it was the vampire from the night before.

Eric looked him over for a long time. I guess he was deciding if he could trust this vampire standing in front of us.

“Let’s talk inside.  The house has a privacy spell and I don’t want anyone to hear what we have to discuss.”

The man inclined his head and we all walked toward the door. Eric and I walked inside, and I noticed our visitor had stopped outside the door.

“You must invite him in, Sookie.”

“Please come in, Mr.….” I didn’t know his name or what to call him so there was a moment of awkwardness before heanswered.

“Hauk.”

[ ](https://gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/06/paul-bettany-1.jpg)

 

“Please come in, Mr. Hauk,” I invited.

Eric and I sat on the couch while he took a seat in the chair across from us.

“You said you know what happened to my wife last night,” Eric stated.

“Yes. I’m the one who unlocked her shields so that she could regain her telepathy,” he replied.

“Why would you do that?” I asked.

“Sooner or later you’re going to be in need of it,” he responded.

“How did you know that she’s a telepath?” Eric asked.

“Because before I was turned, I was a fairy and a telepath.”


	15. Q&A

I felt Eric’s body stiffen and his grip tighten, but I was too stunned to respond.

“You were a fairy?” I asked in astonishment once my wits returned.

He gave me a slight nod and a sly smile.  “Indeed, I was.”

“How long have you been a vampire?” I asked without thinking. “Oh, I’m sorry,” I instantly said, covering my mouth.

“That’s alright.  I’ll answer your questions if you answer mine,” he said, smiling mischievously.

“You will answer her question before asking your own,” Eric stated, his mouth in a thin line.  “I will decide if she will answer.”

[ ](https://gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/07/eric18.jpg)

“If you are telepathic then you will know the answer.”

“You found yourself a smart mate,” Hauk stated, smiling at me.

Eric pulled me closer as if the once upon a time fairy was a threat.

Hauk looked back and forth between us with a wicked smile on his face before he finally spoke.  “I guess you’ll just have to trust me.”

“Why should we trust you?” Eric asked warily.

“If I wanted, I could have told the Queen about her last night,” Hauk sneered at Eric.

“You couldn’t tell her without Her Majesty discovering your own talents,” Eric replied.  “So why help us?  Help her?”

“I was turned against my will for my ability and my blood.  I’ve only been free from my Maker for a very short period of time. I don’t want that to happen to your wife.”

“That’s horrible,” I whispered.

“You’re already blocking your mind from your wife so I cannot read what you are thinking.  As for your wife, you’ll have to trust that I won’t read her mind.  I came here to help you, not cause any problems.”

I felt the minute change of Eric’s body relax when he heard the news.  I wasn’t sure if he was relieved the former fairy couldn’t read him or wouldn’t read me.  It must have been me he was worried about because he was already blocking his thoughts.

I would need to learn to build up my shields before I could go out in public again.  It was just one of the many things that terrified me.  If the pain from last night was any indication of what my life would be like without shields when I was near people,then I might never leave the house.

What scared me the most was hearing the thoughts of vampires . I learned that there weren’t very many vampires that were as nice as Eric.  He liked to remind me that he was nice to Pam and me, but no others.  Vampires don’t think like humans or hybrids like me, and I wouldn’t want to know their thoughts.

“I’m seven hundred and fifty years old.  Now that I’ve answered yours, it’s time for me to ask mine,” he said looking at me.  “How is it you were able to maintain your mental barriers?” he asked.

I felt Eric’s assurance that it was safe for me to answer.  I knew that he didn’t trust many and he didn’t want me to give anything important away.

“Back in January, I was in a car accident during the day.  I was unconscious with broken bones, bruises; I almost died from a head injury.  As soon as Eric could leave, he came to the hospital and gave me his blood.  It healed all my physical injuries with the exception of my head.  When I woke up, I couldn’t remember anything.”

I squeezed Eric’s hand when I felt a dash of his sadness. I looked over at him to see a small smile on his face.

I knew that he would always be sad that I couldn’t remember what we had before, but that’s all it was.  He was happy now that I had fallen in love with him again.  We were husband and wife in every way and he loved teaching me all the ways we could please each other.

“You remember nothing?” Hauk asked in surprise, taking me from my thoughts.

“I remember what has happened since the accident, but not before.  Is there any way you can unlock my memories as you did my shields?”

Hauk regarded me for a moment before slowly shaking his head “I’m afraid not,” Hauk replied.

“Oh,” I said with a frown.  “It was worth a shot.”  The arm Eric had wrapped around my waist moved to rub up and down my back as he sent his love and comfort to me, along with his reassurance that with or without my memories he loved me.

“How were you able to penetrate her shields and disable them? Did you know that you would cause her pain when you invaded her mind and shields?”  Eric’s tone was low and dark, there was no mistaking the protectiveness and displeasurecoming off of him.

I could feel that he wanted to attack the man who had caused me so much pain.  Putting my hand on his arm, I rubbed up and down trying to soothe him until he settled.

“I had no idea that it caused her any pain.  For that I am sorry,” he said sincerely looking at me.  I gave him a nod and a small smile as I continued to try and keep Eric from attacking.   “As for how, I don’t know.  I’ve never met another telepath before.  The only reason I attempted to try and project to her was that I could tell she’s part Fae and I was wondering what she was doing with vampires.  When I tried to project to her I came upon her shields. It was nothing I’d ever experienced before.  I had to push harder each time I projected toward her, but I could tell she was getting my thoughts.”

“How?” Eric snarled.

“I was watching closely each time I projected to her and saw as her eyes moved around as if she was seeking someone, perhaps the one she was hearing in her head?    I couldn’t make myself known last night with the Queen there.  If she discovered what we could do she would never let us go.”

“Why did you say I’ll need my telepathy and why help me?” I asked. I couldn’t figure out either of these questions.  It seemed as if my life could only be more complicated with my telepathy.

“You’ll need it because the Fellowship is becoming a powerful threat,” he replied with a serious tone.

“Do you expect her to help you now that you have released it?” Eric asked, his body tensing up once again.

“No, I can take care of myself,” Hauk sneered. “I only want her to be able to help herself and you if it’s what she decides.”

“Why would I not help, Eric?  He’s my husband.”

He shrugged his shoulders. “You lost your memories, and it hasn’t been long since your accident.  You don’t have to stay with him,” his eyes glanced at Eric and then back to me, “if you don’t want to stay.”

“Of course, I want to stay!  I wouldn’t be with him if I didn’t want to,” I said, barely holding back my anger.

“Are you sure you want to be with him and that he’s not influencing you?  I can tell that you’re bonded.  Do you know what that means?”  he asked.  It seemed as if he was truly worried that I could have been manipulated into my own feelings.

“I do know what it means and he’s not manipulating me,” I replied earnestly.  Hauk gave me a skeptical look and I knew there was nothing that I could do to make him believe me.  He wasn’t there when I woke up; he’d never know how scared I was to not know who or where I was.  Eric waking up when he felt how scared I was, how patient he was with me and all my questions.  Taking me to New Orleans to have a witch fix my hair when I freaked out.  How he was willing to let me go if it would make me happy even if it made him miserable.  Protecting me when the Fellowship of the Sun shot at us and not wanting to take my blood even when it would help him heal.  Keeping his side of the bond blocked off to keep me from being overwhelmed, but never shutting my side off.  Being worried that one day I’d want to have kids and he could never impregnate me.   Always putting my feelings before his no matter how hard it was for him.  Making sure that I didn’t do something that I’d regret.  Helping me learn how to cook again, hiring Charlie, and making me Valentine’s dinner and screwing it up.  Making love to me the first time and how special he’s always made me feel.  Feeling his always present love for me and trying to hide how much it hurt him when I didn’t love him.

Hauk looked stunned for a brief second before he schooled his features.  I was happy that it seemed he was blocking himself from me so that I couldn’t hear his thoughts. I didn’t want to know what he was thinking.

[ ](https://gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/07/paul_bettany_wallpaper_6-normal.jpg)

“I appreciate your concern but, believe it or not, my husband’s a good guy.”

Hauk scoffed at my words.  “There are many things known about Eric Northman in the Supe world, and few rumors mention a “nice guy” image.  His fairness is legendary but so is his tendency to kill first, ask questions later.”

“That may be true, but,” I clasped my hand with Eric’s. “He treats me with love and respect.  My husband treasures what we have together, and that’s what counts.  He tries to keep all the bad from the Supe world away from me as best as he can which I know is difficult considering he’s a Sheriff.   I don’t doubt my love for him nor his love for me.”  I felt Eric’s pride flowing over me, making me smile.

Hauk’s lips curled into a genuine smile.  “I can tell that you believe what you are saying and you have not been glamoured tothink so.”

Eric’s fury ignited quickly upon hearing that the former fairy had been reading my mind.

Hauk held his hands up in surrender feeling the tension in the room.  It felt as if the temperature had dropped along with Eric’s mood.

“I only read her mind to make sure that she had not been glamoured into being with you,” he defended his actions to Eric.“What I found I never thought was possible for a vampire to have,” he said in awe.

“Even if she could be glamoured I would  _never_  glamour her,” Eric snapped.

“You cannot be glamoured?” Hauk asked astounded.

“No,” I said shaking my head.  “According to Eric, I’ve never been able to be glamoured.”

“So you have tried to glamour her,” Hauk accused.

Eric snarled at him before he spoke, his fangs snapped down.  “I tried once not long after we first met.  She found out what I was before the Revelation.  You would have done the same.”

[ ](https://gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/07/true-blood-ep63-001-eric-northman-fangs.jpg)

Hauk raised an eyebrow. “How long have you two been together?”

“We have been married for four years and together for over five,” Eric responded.

“Really? I’m amazed he didn’t kill you when you couldn’t be glamoured.  You’re a lucky woman.  How long have you been bonded?”

“Since the night of our wedding,” I replied.  “Why are you asking us all these questions?”

“It’s very uncommon for a vampire to be with a human for so long especially without the human being manipulated by blood or glamour.”  He paused before slightly shaking his head.  “The two of you surprise me and believe me when I say that is not a common occurrence.”

“No, I know. You vampires are rarely surprised,” I said gesturing toward him and Eric.  “I’ve heard all about it.”

“I guess you have,” he said with a grin, looking over at Eric.  “Do you hide nothing from her?”

“Bloodlust and pain,” he replied before shaking his head.  “I have no reason to hide anything.   All the vampires in my Area know my wife and my rules.  My Area is run efficiently and we have no problems.” Eric words were filled with heat.

“I have heard this was a very good Area to live.  Unfortunately until recently I had no choice as to where I could reside.  The vampires of your Area must notice a change in your wife,” Hauk concluded.

Eric tipped his head, “They know that she was in an accident where she almost lost her life.  Sookie is very well liked due to her treatment of Supes and they are as loyal to her as they are to me.”

“You didn’t answer my question.  Why are you asking us all these questions?” I asked, getting frustrated.

“I want to know what you two are like, how close you are…”

“Why?” Eric asked impatiently, his fangs down and gleaming in the light.

“I want to help your wife,” he said before turning and looking at me.  “I want to help you, Sookie.”

“Why would you want to help me?” I asked quietly.

“You’re going to need your telepathy and help learning how to use your shields now that you’ll be able to read anyone with whom you come into contact.  You’ll need help learning how to filter through the thoughts of a crowd. I feel a kinship with you as a fellow Fae and telepath.

“As for why, I don’t want what happened to me to ever happen to another. After I was turned, my telepathy was ten times stronger than when I was alive.  Unlike you, I could only hear other Fae and humans until I was turned, but that wasn’t the only change.  I can hear for miles now without my shields and I know what it’s like to have no shields. When I was still Fae, the vampire who turned me realized what I was and glamoured me.  He gave me his blood so that he could always find me and commanded me to never use my shields.”

I gasped, “How horrible!”

Hauk curtly nodded, “It was.  He was paranoid about everyone around him.  We lived in a nest and he was afraid one of the other’s humans would somehow kill him.” He shook his head.  “It made no sense.  He had glamoured them all and yet he stilldidn’t trust anyone around him, human or vampire.  I was never left alone with my own thoughts and once I was turned, Ihadn’t used my shields in so long I could barely remember how. The increases in my telepathy made it very difficult for me to function until I could maintain control.  I don’t want you to suffer, Sookie.”

“I’m going to need help,” I said, my words laced with worry toward Eric.

“I know you are,” he replied, wrapping his arm around my shoulders before kissing my temple.

I looked over at Hauk and thought over everything he had said.  I knew that Eric would try to help to the best of his ability, but I believed that I’d get the best help from a fellow telepath.

“How do I know that I can trust you?” I asked him.

“I can let you read my mind,” he countered.

“Just because you think it does not make it so.  You’ve had centuries to perfect your lies and  telepathy,” Eric answered.

“I guess you’ll just have to trust me,” Hauk said in a most innocent tone.

Eric could only scoff.  I hated that we couldn’t trust the only person who could help me.

“Perhaps you would trust me if I gave you some information that no one else knows and if they did, it would make me a very hot commodity.”

“What would that be?” Eric and I asked in unison.

“I’m a daywalker,” Hauk replied with a flourish.

 

 


	16. Shields

**6 Months Later**

[ ](https://gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/07/the-holiday-jack-black-kate-winslet-kitchen.jpg)

Charlie and I had just finished eating a late lunch and were cleaning up his kitchen when the doorbell rang. We were meeting with Hauk for my telepathy lessons at Charlie’s house. Eric had come to trust the former fairy, but there was no way he was letting him know where we lived.

After a month of Hauk teaching me how to raise my shields, he thought it best for me to first practice on humans.  After a heated discussion, Eric and Hauk came to the decision that I would start practicing with Charlie.  Eric had glamoured Charlie so he would never know of my telepathy unless we were practicing.

When I asked Eric why he didn’t glamour him so that he couldn’t speak of it, he said a vampire would realize that he had been glamoured if he just clammed up and wouldn’t say a word.  It was best that he just deny any knowledge.

Our meetings took place at the farmhouse on most nights that Eric didn’t have to work.  It made me feel bad, seeing that he was doing his work along with mine, but there was no way I could be at Fangtasia until I had control over my shields.

It took nearly two and half months of constant practice for me to be able to go to work for the first time and I didn’t last as long as I would have liked.  I worked for almost two hours before a few thoughts started trickling in.  I did my best to continue shielding, but after another thirty minutes, I was no longer able to block all the Fangtasia patrons.  I was disappointed that I couldn’t maintain my shields for any longer; Eric was disappointed that he could no longer help me block out others’ thoughtswhen we touched as he had before my accident.

It seemed as though Eric had better shields than mine.  He had to block himself almost constantly in the beginning.  The only time he let me hear what he was thinking was when we were making love, and there was nothing about that I would change.  Ifhe wasn’t thinking about how much he loved me, how beautiful I was, or how he could never get enough of me, then he was sending me images of what he would like to do to me.

Hauk’s lessons began with little success because I had no idea how to raise or lower my shields.  Once I got the hang of that, I needed to work on strength.  I would have to be able to keep them up for hours while we were out or at work.  Next came trying to block out others while I tried to read one person.

That’s where Charlie came in.  I would try to read him while blocking out Hauk, or vice versa.  I definitely preferred listening to Charlie’s thoughts than the patrons of Fangtasia.  All they thought about is sex; sex with a vampire, or having a vampire bitethem.  Some of what they think about was interesting, but I didn’t like it when they fantasized about Eric.

Today we were trying to test the range of my telepathy.  We couldn’t do it at our loft because of Amelia’s spell and the old farmhouse is too far away from civilization for me to pick up on anyone.  The only person around was Bill Compton who hadn’t left Bon Temps yet.  He still came to Fangtasia once a week for his weekly area duties, and he tried to sneak around thefarmhouse when we were there to catch what we were doing. Too bad there’s a privacy spell and you can’t get much past two telepaths.

Charlie went to answer the door as I put the last pot in the dishwasher.  Once I was done in the kitchen I made my way into the living room were Hauk and Charlie were sitting on his couch chatting away.

It was funny that they had become such good friends over the last six months.  Most of the time after we were done with my lessons, they would continue to hang out together or meet somewhere after Charlie dropped me off at home or work.

Once they were done talking about some movie they had watched the other night, Hauk turned to talk to me.

“Since we are finally meeting during the day, does that mean that your mate has finally decided to trust me?” Hauk asked.

I smiled and shrugged, “As much as he can trust another vampire that’s not his progeny.  I think he’s worried that I’m tootrusting.”

“He has every right to be worried about you.  Do you know what would happen if word got out that you’re a telepath? You’re lucky that it didn’t come back before Sophie Ann came to visit you or when you would’ve had no one to help you.”

“I know I’m lucky and I’d probably still be stuck in my house and not be able to leave if it weren’t for you.  I also know that any vampire who found out my secret would either want me for themselves or my services, putting me and Eric in danger.”

“You know, you could probably get paid by a lot of vamps if you read their employees, companions, and whatnot,” Charlie stated.

Hauk burst out laughing for a few seconds before he finally calmed down. “There is no way the Sheriff will allow that. If you haven’t noticed, he’s a little overprotective.” He looked over at me, shaking his head.

“He’s gotten better over the last six months.  I’m here, aren’t I, and it’s daylight” I said, motioning toward the windows.  “I don’t mind his overprotectiveness.  He nearly lost me, and I woke up not remembering anything.  I needed someone watching out for me and I’m happy it was Eric.”

“Well, if he’s a little less protective over you, then it might be a possibility, you know.  If you provided your services to everyone, I think you’d have less trouble with vampires trying to take you or kill your husband.”

“I don’t think I’m ready for that yet and… I don’t know, I think it’s best if no one knows.  Why haven’t you ever told anyone that you can read minds?”

Hauk gave me a disbelieving look before he scoffed. “If vampires knew that I could read minds than I’d never be free.  I’d either be killed out of fear that I could read their minds or I’d be a slave to whatever monarch ruled  in my homeland.  It could be different for you though.  You would be looked at as a fragile human who can be glamoured, but I understand your feelings..”

“I don’t mind helping Eric or a friend who needs help, but I don’t want to spend the rest of my existence reading minds for supes because they can’t trust anyone.  I want to be free and travel the world; I want to spend as much time with my husband as possible, not working.”

We had spent the last few hours testing the distance of my telepathy, as well as blocking out Charlie and Hauk, or block one, read the other, and pick another brain signature to read before quickly dropping it and moving on to the next.  Tonight was sort of like a test for my telepathy. I had been working hard to strengthen it and get it under control.

I wanted to be able to help Eric at Fangtasia by doing what I had done previously.  Eric was impressed with all I learned to do with my telepathy.  He was great at letting me know how proud he was of me and that I could do more now than before my accident, that I had better control, and was much stronger.

I still had problems with my reactions to what I “heard.”  Before my accident, I had years of experience at hearing thoughts and never outwardly reacting, no matter what I heard.  Now, not so much.  Eric wasn’t as afraid for me anymore.  I may have lost all of my life experiences with the accident, but now I could at least read the thoughts of those around me, unless they knew how to block me, and see what they were up to, if necessary.

“You’ve done a great job tonight,” Hauk praised me.  “I think we should continue working together at least once a month to experiment with new things, but I’m not sure  if you’ll ever get any stronger than you are now. You’re better than me at this point, and my skills have improved since we started.”

“Really?” I questioned.  I was surprised at how, once I got the hang of my shields, each time became easier and less tiring.

Hauk gave me a genuine smile. “Really. You’re an amazing student.”

“You’re an amazing teacher. I don’t know where I’d be without you,” I replied with tears in my eyes.  I had been so scared that first night with all the pain and voices; I’d had no idea what was happening to me.  I was so grateful for Hauk’s help.

I stood up to give Hauk a hug when we heard a loud thump out on the deck.

“What the fuck was that?” Charlie yelled, jumping up and hiding behind the couch.

Hauk sprang up into a crouched position, ready to defend Charlie and I.

I smiled and ran to the back door as quickly as I could.

“Sookie,” Hauk yelled and vamped in front of me.  “What are you doing?  Do you have a death wish?”

I could only try to make my way past him before Eric broke down the door. I hadn’t realized that it was fully dark. He had awakened and was immediately uneasy when he realized that I wasn’t home. No matter how hard he tried to get past my accident if he rose for the night and I wasn’t there, he became anxious until he saw me again.  He never mentioned that he wanted or needed me home when he woke up, but I tried to be there and waiting in bed for him every night.  I would hate to wake up and find out something had happened to him and I couldn’t get to him right away.  Today had also been the first time I had met Hauk during the day and I knew that Eric would worry.  Our session had taken longer than I realized, and I hated that I wasn’t home before he had woken up and had worried him.

“Of course I don’t. It’s only Eric.  You two need to stop overreacting.  Did you really think I’d go running toward some strange sound?” I asked in annoyance as I pushed my way passed him.

The second I flung open the door, Eric crushed me to his chest as his nose skimmed along my neck before making his way to my lips.  His stress at my absence upon his awakening slowly drifted away.

[ ](https://gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/07/image83.jpg)

His soft lips lightly kissed my own once, twice, three times, before he pulled back and caressed my face, looking at me as if he hadn’t seen me in months.

“Hey,” I whispered, reaching my hand up to cup his face.

“Hey, yourself,” he replied before kissing me once more, and then tucking me into his side as he looked at the others in the room.

Charlie had a shit-eating grin on his face when he turned to Hauk and said, “I think we were wrong in our assumption about how much he trusts you.”

[ ](https://gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/07/253458-jack_black_400a052307.jpg)

“Charlie,” I scolded him.  “Eric trusts him. If he didn’t he would never let me be here without him.  You’re just trying to start trouble.”

Eric just looked at Charlie and shook his head.  “I trust him more than you know,” he replied. “Let’s sit down.  We have a situation that we need to discuss.”

He led me by the hand over to the couch before he sat down and pulled me onto his lap, his nose was in my hair as he breathed in my scent.  I could feel that he was still worried, meaning that something had happened.  Naturally, it made me start to worry.  It couldn’t be Pam.  If it was Pam, he wouldn’t be as calm as he was.

“What’s happened?” I asked, pulling away so that I could see his face.

His lips curled up to give me a small smile.   “I had a message from a  _friend_ waiting for me when I woke tonight.”

The word ‘friend’ piqued my curiosity, but ‘woke’ is what Hauk and Charlie seemed interested in if their duly raised eyebrows at the word was any indication.

“She doesn’t like it when I refer to it as ‘dying for the day’,” Eric explained and waved his hand back and forth.  “Or when I saythat I’ve ‘risen for the night,’” he shrugged before wrapping his arms around me giving me a slight squeeze. “Therefore, I wake up.” He looked at them both to see if they would argue, but they were quiet as they continued to look at us both.

“Back to what I was saying; yes, I wake up at night and I have a few friends,” he said exasperatedly, but kissed my temple before he continued.  “Velkan, Godric’s child, received a call this morning stating that Godric has gone missing.  His dayman reported to Stan Davis that he could not get ahold of him, and when he went to his home today he found a few drops of blood outside the door to his resting place.”

“Was there anymore blood found?” Hauk asked, moving to sit on the edge of his seat.

[ ](http://i1.wp.com/gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/07/paul_bettany_wallpaper_6-normal.jpg)

Eric gave his a slight nod. “It trailed from the door leading downstairs to the garage door and it stopped abruptly where one would find the trunk of a car, if said car were parked in the garage.”

“Just to be clear, we are talking about Godric, the Sheriff of Dallas, who is rumored to be over two thousand years old?”

“Yes, and it’s no rumor.  He is, indeed, over two thousand years old.  I don’t know who could overpower him.  I don’t know who or what we are dealing with that could have done this. If they can take down Godric, then they can take down any vampire.”

“Why did his child call you?” I asked, not wanting to think about the possibility of Eric getting hurt or worse while there.  I took a deep breath trying to calm down, but Eric could feel my distress.  He pulled me flush against his chest and tucked me under his chin.

“Velkan cannot leave Germany at the moment and he wants someone who can get to Dallas as quickly as possible, and I owe Godric.”

“So you’re headed to Dallas and you want us to keep an eye on Sookie?” Charlie questioned.

“No, I’m not leaving her while I go to Dallas,” Eric replied, shaking his head.  “I want you two to come with us.  I’m hoping that you and Sookie can help without giving away that you’re reading the minds of those around you, and to keep her company during the day and when I cannot be with her,” he said to Hauk.

“See, he does trust me,” Hauk said, smirking at Charlie.

“I’d like to hire a Were guard for you, if or when you go out during the day.  This isn’t my area and I will have no say while we are there.  I need to know that you’ll be as safe as possible when I cannot be with you.”

“Ok, if it will make you feel better,” I responded.

“It will.  I wanted to know what you thought of Quinn when you met him.”

I shrugged, “He seemed fine, nice enough. Why?  Is he the Were you want to hire?”

“If I can.  He’s known for being a fierce fighter and the best pit fighter there has ever been.  I want the best for you.”

“If you’d like, I can try to get ahold of him.  We became acquainted while I was in New Orleans. I can vouch for you and Sookie since he seemed to trust me as much as any Were and vampire can trust each other.”

Eric nodded to Hauk. “I want to be on the road in an hour. We will take Sookie’s car.  Can you both be ready by then?” They responded with a quiet yes.  I don’t think anyone expected to be leaving to go out of town so quickly, but Eric was very efficient and would want to find his friend as soon as possible.

“Very well. We will return to pick you up here after we are done packing,” Eric continued. He placed me on my feet before he stood and we made our way out to my car.

OoOoO

I wrapped my body around Eric has he continued to thrust against me.  Each thrust heightened my orgasm.  I pulled his face down, and kissed him fiercely as he moved even faster.  I loved the sensation of him being inside of me.  It didn’t matter if we were slowly making love or if it was as fast as though it might be our last time together.  I loved the intimacy of having him like this, holding him like this.

Eric tensed and let out a deep groan before he drove himself in deeper and his body shuddered in my arms.  Smiling, I held him close as we both climaxed together before he collapsed on top of me.

I brushed his hair out of his eyes as we lay there, both totally sated, before we had to finish our packing and leave.  My heart ached at the thought of anything happening to him.  Someone knew how to take down really old, strong vampires, and Eric could be next.

“Please don’t worry, min älskade.  I promise you that I will be keep my guard up and be safe.”

“I don’t want you to go anywhere alone. Take Hauk with you… you have to be safe.”

Leaning up on his elbows, he looked down at me tenderly.  “I promise,” he answered before his lips found mine in a passionate kiss.  All too soon he pulled away and made his way to the closet.

“I don’t know how long we will be gone, but remember if you need anything, you can always go shopping,” he said while he threw clothing into a suitcase.  He only paused for a second when he answered his phone.

[ ](http://i0.wp.com/gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/02/open-plan-bedroom-bathroom.jpg)

I watched from the bed as he talked on the phone and packed for us without wearing a stitch of clothing.  I loved watching him move gracefully throughout the room. Every once in a while he’d hold up something for my approval before he’d place it into our suitcase.

As he walked out of the closet with our suitcase in hand and made his way to the bathroom, he looked over his shoulder at me and shook his ass for me.  “You’re going to have to get out of bed and get ready instead of watching me.  If you keep giving me those looks and keep filling me with your lust we’ll never leave,” he said with a wink.

Hiding my head in a pillow I groaned and blushed at my wanton ways.  Ever since we had started to have sex again it seemed as if that was all I could think about!  How can you think of anything else when you have a Nordic God running around your house naked?

“There’s nothing to be embarrassed about, Lover.  It makes me very happy that you want me and appreciate my body the way you do,” he said from above me.  He must have come back into the room when he felt my embarrassment. He kissed from my lower back all the way up my spine before he smacked by butt. “We really need to get ready.  If not I wouldn’t let you out our bed for the rest of the night. I’m sure you’d like to take a shower before you spend the next few hours in the car with a couple of vampires.”

“I know that you don’t mind me smelling like our sex,” I replied as I got up and headed to the shower. “In fact, I know you love it.”

“I know you wouldn’t like it that Hauk can smell what we’ve been doing since we left them,” he countered.

[ ](http://i0.wp.com/gyllene76.files.wordpress.com/2014/03/shower.jpg)

I scrunched up my nose as I walked into the shower.  “Doesn’t it bother you that your senses are so heightened? I can’timagine what Fangtasia smells like for you.”

“I try not to breathe in most of the time.  As for the noise I tune it out mostly.  Otherwise I’d probably have gone insane by now,”he said from behind me. If I hadn’t felt him approach, he would have scared me silly, instead I turned toward him to so that I could wash him.

“The only smell I truly enjoy is yours,” he said as his nose skimmed along my neck.  He nipped my ear and pulled my body against his. “You always smell delectable, but when you smell of us…,” he groaned and licked up my neck. “You smell divine.”

Twenty minutes later and a lot more getting dirty before we finally got ourselves clean, we stepped out of the bathroom dry and dressed, making our way to the front door.

As I reached for the doorknob, Eric called out my name causing me to turn around and look up at him.

“I want to remind you of a conversation we had after your accident.  Do you remember when I said that I act differently around vampires?” he asked.

“I do and I understand,” I answered.

“We are going into a different state, a different area. I don’t want you to get upset if I have to act coldly with you.  Just feel me through the bond and know that I always love you.  You’re my everything, a part of my soul that I cherish every day.”

I scanned his emotions and his face looking to see if there was more to his words. Was he worried something was going to happen to one of us? Finding nothing but his worry that I would misinterpret his actions, I cupped his face and planted a sweet kiss to his full lips.

“I know, Eric and I’ll remember.  You know that I love you more than anything, right?” I asked, locking my eyes with his.

“I do, my sweet Sookie,” he replied, his eyes and heart shining with emotion.

Tears welled up seeing and feeling how much he loved me. “You’re killing me, Eric,” I sniffed.

“I know. I’m very cute when I’m vulnerable.”

“You’re very cute all the time,” I said as we left our loft and headed to the elevator.

“Vampires are not cute, Sookie,” he said as if he was offended, but I knew better.

“Well, you are and that’s all that matters to me,” I smiled sweetly at him.  “Don’t worry, I’m not going to run around and tell everyone how I think you’re cute and sweet.”

“Good,” he replied, pulling out of the garage.

“But I know the truth and you are,” I said with a laugh.

Eric’s mouth twitched, but he said nothing in response.

It was only a few minutes later that we were pulling into Charlie’s driveway. Before we could even get out of the car both Charlie and Hauk came out with their luggage.

After placing it in the back, they got into the back seats and we were on our way.  No one said a word as we made our way to Dallas until Charlie spoke up from the back.

“This is great!  I haven’t been on a road trip in years.”

Eric shook his head and looked over at me. “Yes, you can go shopping with your bff, Charlie, while we’re in Dallas.”

“I’m sure Quinn will love taking you two shopping,” Hauk chuckled from the backseat.

“You got ahold of him?” I asked Hauk

“Yes, he’s coming from Memphis and will meet you at the hotel tomorrow when he arrives.”

“Sookie, I would prefer it if you didn’t go out during the day since we don’t know what we’re up against, but if you must, the tiger is to accompany you at all times.”

“And you trust Quinn?”

“That has yet to be seen,” Eric said and glanced over at me.  “If you are willing, I would like you to read him and see what his intentions are. If you clear him, I’ll then inform him what will happen if _anything_  happens to you.”

I squeezed his hand and looked out the window.  Dallas, here we come.

 

~The End~

This is the end of Lover’s Amnesia but the story will continue on with [Lovers Always](http://gyllene76.com/the-lovers-trilogy/lovers-always/).

Download [Lover’s Amnesia](https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByA9xsdvw4Oibk9OSEl6UWV2amM/view?usp=sharing) PDF

[Gyllene’s Stories to Go](http://www.gyllene76.com/secret-distraction/gyllenes-media-to-go/)

**Author's Note:**

> Check out my story at http://gyllene76.wordpress.com/lovers-amnesia/ to pictures throughout the story. There will be a lot of pictures throughout.


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